high -caste hindu woman

THE

HIGH -CASTE HINDU WOMAN,

itv

PUNDITA RAMABAI vSARASVATL

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I: :^Srf^S According to Act of Congress, in tfce year 1887, by

RAMABAI DONORS MEDHAVI,in the Office of the librarian of Congress AU rights reserved.

Press ot The Jas. B. Roclgers Printing Co.

TO

MEMORY Off MY BELOVED MOTHER,

LAKSHMIBAI DONGR3,

WHOSE SWEET INFLUENCE AND ABWffi

LIGHT AND GUIDE OF MY

THIS UTTU-C VOLUME

IS MOST KEVRNTI,Y DEDICATED.

ftt

ANANDIBAI JOSHEE, M. D.

DAUGHTER OF GANPATRAO AMRITASWARAND

OUNGABAI

Boni in Poona, Bombay Presidency, India, March 3ist,

1865. (Child-name, Yamuna Joshee.)

Married Gopalrao Vinoyak Joshce, March 3ist, 1874.

(Wife-name, Anandibai Joshee,)

Sailed from Calcutta, India, for America, April 7th, 1883*

being the first high-caste Brahman woman to come to the

United States, Landed in tfew York, June 4th, 1883.

Graduated in medicine, from the Woman's Medical

College of Pennsylvania, March nth, 1886, being the first

Hindu woman to receive the Degree of Doctor of Medi*"

cine in any country.

Appointed, June 1st, 1886, to the position of Physician-

xn*Charge of the Fetnale Ward of the Albert Edward Hos-

pital, in th$ City of Kolhapur, India,

Sailed from New York, to assume her duties in Kolha-

put, October 9tht 1886.

Died in Poona, India; February ?6th, 1887.

INTRODUCTION.

THE silence of a thousand years has been broken,

and the reader of this unpretending little volume

catches the first utterances of the unfamiliar voice

Throbbing with woe, they are revealed in the fol-

lowing pages to intelligent, educated, happy Ameri-

can women.God grant that these women, whom He has blessed

above all women upon the earth, may not flippantly

turn away, as they are wont to do from some over-

pious tale, and without reading, condemn ! To beginthis story of The High-caste Hindu Woman t and not

to read it through attentively to the last word of the

agonized appeal, is to invoke upon oneself the divine

displeasure meted out to those who disregard the

cry of "him that had none to help him." These

lines are written with deep emotion ; the blinding

tears which fall upon the page are the saddest tears

my eyes have ever wept.From childhood I had been familiar with the state-

ments cottcernmg the condition of the native womenof ladiju My sympathies had always been with

*

ii Introduction.

them, and my annual offering to the treasury of mis-

sionary societies which worked among them, had

never been omitted; but in September, 1883, there

catne to my door a little lady in a blue cotton $aree^

accompanied by her faithful fnend, Mrs. B. F. Car-

penter, of Roselle, New Jersey, and since that hour,

when, speechless for very wonder, I bestowed a kiss

of welcome upon the stranger's cheek in lieu of

words, I have loved the women of India. The little

lady was Mrs. Anandibai Joshee. I^ess than three

months ago, the wealthy and conservative city of

Poona, India, which gave her birth, was stirred as

never before to honor a woman, and amid the pompof Brahmanical funeral rites performed by orthodox

Hindu priests, her funeral pile was lighted from the

sacred fire, in the presence of a great throng of sor-

rowing Hindus. She sealed with her early death the

superhuman effort to elevate her countrywomen andto minister in her own person to their physicalneeds.

To witness Dr. Joshee's graduation in medicine,there came to Philadelphia from JBngland her kins-

woman, Pundita Ramabai Sarasvatl The two ladies

never met until they greeted each other under myroof, March 6th, 1886

; but, as kindred spirits, theyhad corresponded for several years. Strangely enough,each left India without the knowledge of the other,and withm the same month, Mrs. Joshee sailing fromCalcutta and the Pundita from Bombay. The daythat Mrs. Joshee left Liverpool for New York, Rama-bai and her little daughter landed m England, Th$reception of the two ladies in the summer of 1883,

on^in England and the other in the United States,

was most cordial; and, comforted and blessed as nei-

ther had dared to anticipate before leaving India,each settled down to work with industry and with

Introduction. iii

a degree of Intelligence which was a revelation to on-

lookers.

My own personal experience relates to her who fell

to our lot in the college in Philadelphia. She tried

faithfully, this little woman of eighteen, to prosecuteher studies, and at the same time to keep caste-rules

and cook her own food ; but the anthracite coal-stove

in her room was a constant vexation, and likewise a

source of danger; and the solitude of the individual

house-keeping was overwhelming. In her father's

hotise, the congregate system, referred to in this

book, prevailed ; and, being a man of means, the

family was always large. letter, when under her hus-

band's care, lie had been in the postal service, andthe dwelling apartments were in the same buildingwith the post-office ; hence she had never known

complete solitude. After a trial of two weeks, her

health declined to such an alarming extent that I

invited her to pay a short visit in ray home, and she

never left it again to dwell elsewhere in Philadelphia

during her student residence. In the performance o

college duties, going in and out, and up and down,

always in her measured, quiet, dignified, patient way,she has filled every room, as well as the stairways

and halls, with memories which now hallow the

home, and must continue so to do throughout the

years to come, .

In the spring of 1884, Mrs. Joshee accepted an in-

vitation to address an audience of ladies convened for

a missionary anniversary, and she chose as her sub-

ject" Child Marriage/

1 and surprised her great audi-

ence by defending the national custom. If there are

any who still cherish the feelings of disappointmentand regret engendered that April afternoon, let them

turn to Ramabai's chapter on Married I/ife in this

Wok, and learn how absolutely impossible it was for

iv Introduction.

a high-caste Hindu wife to speak otherwise, Letthem also discover, in the herculean attempt of that

occasion, a clue to the influences which at length

overpowered and slew this gentle, grave woman."I will go (to America) as a Hindu, and come

back and live among my people as a Hindu."

Brave, patriotic words ! a resolve which was carried

out to the death. Ramabai's chapter on Married

Life, the married life of a Hindu woman in the year1887, no less than in past centuries, reveals to theWestern reader what it was for this refined, intellec-

tual woman, whose faculties developed rapidly underWestern opportunities, and whose scientific acquire-ments placed her high in rank among her peersin the college class, to accept again the positionawarded her by the Code of Manu (Manu ix, 22 ; see

page 40). That she did accept it, that "until deathshe was patient of hardships, self-controlled, , . . andstrove to fulfill that most excellent duty which is

prescribed for wives,"

is undoubted* vShe battled

hand to hand with every circumstance, resolved, as a

Hindu, to live and work for the uplifting of her

sisters, but all in vain 1

After years of exile, she found herself once more in

the familiar places of her childhood, surrounded byher mother and maternal grandmother and sisters.

She had returned to them too late to admit of the ra*

storation of her appetite by the nourishing food their

skillful hands knew how to prepare j but in love theywatched beside her, and it was the dear mother*!* priv-

ilege to support the daughter in her arms when at

midnight the end came quickly, This occurred Fetm-ary 26th, 1887, in the city of Poona, in the house iti

which she was born* Previous to the cremation of thebody, which took place the morning following herdeath, her husband had a photograph taken of "mat-

Introduction. v

ter before it was transformed into vapor and ashes/*

The pathos of that lifeless form is indescribable. Thelast of several pictures, taken during the brief publiccareer of the little reformer, it is the most eloquent of

them all. The mute lips, and the face, wan and wastedand prematurely aged in the fierce battle with sorrowand pain, alike convey to her American friends this

message, not to be forgotten: "I have done all that

I could do." Ah! who will thus early dare to saythat she has not accomplished more by her death

than she might have accomplished by a long life?

Herself and husband returned from a foreign land,

where they had dwelt with a strange people, ought,

by Hindu custom, to have been treated as outcasts,

and their shadows shunned. Instead, when it wasknown that the distinguished young Hindu doctor

had reached her early home, old and young, ortho-

dox and non-orthodox, came to pay friendly visits

and to extend a cordial welcome.

Even the reformers were astounded when they be-

held the manner in which the travelers were treated

by the most orthodox families. The papers from dayto day chronicled the state of the invalid's health,

and when at length she passed away, several of the

journals of Poona printed in the vernacular, contained

under symbols of mourning, eulogistic notices of her

\ character and work. Ramabai has translated two of

\ these for me, and from them I make extracts :

"Dr. Anandibai Joshee has left us to abide in thenext world ; but the example she has set will not be

fruitless. It is indeed wonderful that a Brahman ladyhas proved to the world that the great qualities ^per-

severance, unselfishness, undaunted courag^ and an

eager desire to serve one's country do exist in the

So-called, weaker sex We ought as a people to do

something that will remind us of her and l>ear wit-

vi Introduction.

ness forever to her wondrous virtues ;in our opinion,

this debt of gratitude to Anandibai cannot be better

discharged than by providing a lady, who will be

willing to study medicine, with all the pecuniary aid

necessary. Thus may the memory of the late dis-

tinguished lady be perpetuated."- Kesari, February27, 1887.

" One of the great and grievous losses which ourunfortunate Hindustan incessantly sustains was wit-

nessed by Poona, we grieve to say, on Saturday last,when Dr. Anandibai Joshee was summoned from this

world late in the midnight. She has been residing inFoona for the last two months ; she came hither inthe hope that her native city, which has many re-

nowned physicians residing in it, might prove for hera healthy place, and that the pleasant weather andhome influences would all contribute towards improv-ing her health. The hopeful expectations of hercountrywomen, who had looked forward to the daywhen they would be benefited by Dr Joshee's remark-able ability and well-earned knowledge, are now whollydissipated,"

44

Although Anandibai was so young, her persever-ance, undaunted courage and devotion to her husbandwere unparalleled, we think it will be long beforewe shall again see a woman like her in this country.We do not hesitate to say that Dr. Joshee is worthyof a hi^h place on the roll of historic women whohave striven to serve and to elevate their native land*. . . The education that she had received hadgreatly heightened her nature and ennobled her mind.Although she suffered more than words can expressfrom her ^mortal disease, phthisis, not a word eitherof complaint or impatience escaped her lips at any time*After months of dreadful suffering she was reducedto skin and bone, and every one that looked at hercould not but be greatly pained; yet, wonderful torelate, Anandibai thought it her present duty to suffersilently and cheerfully. . . . After the picture w*3taken, her relatives bathed the body and decked itwith bright garments and ornaments, according toHindu custom. There was no time to spread the sadnews throughout the city, but as many as heard it

Introduction* vii

accompanied her remains to the cremation ground,thus showing the respectful affection they felt forher Some people had feared that the priests mightraise objections to cremating her body in the sacredfire, according to the Hincm rites; out these fears

proved groundless. Not only on the occasion of hercremation, but earlier during her lifetime, when herhusband offered sacrifices to the gods and the guard-ian planets to avert their anger and her death, ^thepriests showed no sign of any prejudice againstthem ; they gladly officiated in the religious sacrifices,thus affording a remarkable proof of their advancedviews. After the body was placed upon the funeral

pileMr. V. M. Ranade made an oration in Dr. Joshee's

honor, and the cremation was then completed withouthindrance." Dnyana Chakshu> March 2nd, 1887.

The general public interest in the person- and wortof Dr. Joshee is a sufficient reason for presenting in

this introductory chapter the above details, whichhave not elsewhere been given to her Americanfriends. Pundita Ramabai, her beloved and trusted

kinswoman, still lives to perform, not her identical

work, but to prosecute the general disenthrallment of

Hindu women, concerning the ultimate accomplish-ment of which Dn Joshee cherished invincible faith.

Greatly bereaved, her fond hopes of a congenial sup-

porter and an efficient helper in India suddenly dashed

to the ground, Ramabai toils on with a heroic single-

ness of purpose. It is in the prosecution of this one

supreme object of helping her countrywomen to a

better and higher life that this little book has been

written. In her contact with American philanthro-

pists and educators, during the year of her sojourn

in the United States, Ramabai has found popular

ideas concerning the women of India erroneous, and

it is to correct these, and also to reveal fully their

needs, that the following chapters have been prepared.

She lias written in the belief that if the depths of

viii Introduction.

the thralldom in which the dwellers in Indian zena-

nas are held by cruel superstition and social customs

were only fathomed, the light and love in American

homes, which have so comforted her burdened heart,

might flow forth in an overwhelming tide to bless all

Indian women. The task of preparing The High-casteHindu Woman has not been for her a congenial one.

She is not by nature an iconoclast. She loves her

nation with a pure, strong love. But her love hasreached the height where it is akin to the motive of

the skillful surgeon : she dares to inflict pain because

she regards pain as affording the only sure means of

relief. She is satisfied, moreover, that India cannot

arise and take her place among the nations of the

<earth until she, too, has mothers ; until the Hinduzenana is transformed into the Hindu home, wherethe united family can have "pleasant times t<5-

.gether" (see p. 48).

The experiment of bringing the existing condition

<of high-caste Hidu women to the test of codes of

sacred law, it is believed, was never before attempted."The reader will bear in mind, as she cons the care-

ifully selected texts from the Code of Manu whichabound throughout the volume, that these are sen-

tences too sacred for feminine lips to utter, and that

tfew women in India have ever heard, them, much"less "have beheld them with their own eyes. EvenAnanta Shastri, liberal as he was in his views con-

cerning the education of women, withheld the sacred

texts from his wife and daughters. The Sanskrit

literature accessible to them, consisted of poems notassociated with sacred rites and ceremonies. Rama*bai never saw a copy of the Code of Manu until after

her scholastic attainments had been publicly recog-nized in Calcutta.

She has exercised great care in securing correctness

Introduction. ix

in Her quotations, diligently comparing translations,where more than one were available, and in somecases making the translation herself from the originalSanskrit. The general statements throughout thebook may be relied upon for their accuracy. Shouldthe volume reach India, these statements will undoubt-

edly be assailed as untruthful and sacrilegious, and

possibly there may be persons in the United States

who will strive to create this impression ; but Rama-bai's desire to speak the truth is only equalled byher determination to let in the full blaze of day uponeffete customs and perilous usages. She has withheld

nothing essential that her wide experience through-out India has revealed to her. She does not printthis information for the purpose of reputation or of

gain, but because taught, as she believes, by the Di-

vine Spirit, that the revelation will stir the hearts of

those who read the story to deeds of rescue and relief.

There are readers who, upon the title-page of this

book, will see the Pundita's name for the first time,

and all such will naturally inquire, Who is she?

In view of the fact, that she seeks to assume grave

responsibilities before the American public this ques-tion is legitimate, and therefore, at the risk of grow-

ing tedious, I will endeavor to make answer- It is

a weird beginning of a life-sketch to ask the in-

quirer to turn to page 37 and read of an occurrence,

in the early morning, on the banks of the sacred

river Godavari. The fine-looking man who came to

the river-side to bathe was the learned Ananta Shastri,

and the little girl of nine, whom he carried away the

day following as his child-bride, wa$ Ramabai's mo-,

ther. Ttiis Brahman pundit, who "well and tenderly

cared for the little girl beyond all expectation/* was

a native of the Mangalore district in Western India.

x Introduction.

In his boyhood, when about ten years of age, he had

been married, and had brought his child-bride to his

mother's house and committed the little girl to her

keeping. He, however, was possessed with a desire

for the acquisition of knowledge, and attracted by the

fame of Ramachandra Shastri, a distinguished scholar,

who dwelt in Poona, he early made his way thither,

and sought his instruction. This eminent Brahmanhad been employed by the reigning Peshwa to visit

his palace statedly, and give Sanskrit lessons to a fa-

vorite wife. The student Ananta was privileged to

accompany his teacher, and, thus going in and out

of the palace, he occasionally heard the lady reciting

Sanskrit poems.The boy was filled with wonder that a woman

should be so learned, and as time wore on, astonish-

ment gave place to admiration of her learning, andhe resolved that he would teach his little wife just as

the Shastri taught the fair Rani of the palace. Hisstudent-life ended at the age of twenty-three, and hehastened to his native village to incorporate education

with his duties as a householder. But the bride hadno desire to be instructed ; his mother and all the elders

of the family demurred, and the husband was compelledto desist. The married life went on, children were born

to the young couple, and at length the wife died.

The widower had not forgotten the Peshwa's palacein Poona and the Sanskrit poems, and he resolved to

begin his next experiment early.

We learn from the printed page how he acceptedthe little bride of nine.who was offered to him, andcarried her to his distant home ; there he delivered

her to his mother, and immediately began to teach

her Sanskrit. But the elders of tie household ob-

jected as before ; the little wife was too young to have ,

a voice in the matter, and the husband resolved that

Introduction. xi

the experiment of the girl's education should be

faithfully carried out. He therefore left the valleyand civilization below him, and journeyed upwardwith his young wife to the forest of Gungamul, on

a remote plateau of the Western Ghauts, and literally

in the jungle, took up his abode. Ramabai relates

as a memory of her childhood her mother's recital of

how the first night was spent in the sylvan solitude,

without shelter of any kind. A great tiger came with

the darkness, and from across a ravine, made the

night hideous with its cries. The little bnde wrappedherself up tight in her pasodi (cotton quilt) and lay

upon the ground convulsed with terror, while the

husband kept watch until daybreak, when the hungrybeast disappeared. The wild animals of the junglewere all about them, and hourly terrified the lonelylittle girl ;

but the lessons went on without hindrance,and day by day the wife, I/akshmibai, grew 'in stature

and in knowledge A rude dwelling was constructed,and after a few years little children came to the homein the forest, one son and two daughters. The father

devoted himself to the education of the son and elder

daughter, and also to that of young men who, as stu-

dents, sought out the now famous Brahman priest,

whose dwelling-place in the mountains, at the source

of one of the rivers, was regarded as sacred, and hence

a place of pilgrimage for the pious. When Rama-

bai, the youngest child, was born, in April, 1858, the

father was quite too much occupied to instruct her,

and, moreover, he was growing old. Upon her mother,

therefore, devolved the instruction in Sanskrit.

The resident ^students and the visiting pilgrims andthe aged father and mother-in-law, now membersof the ifatoily, as well as the children of the house-

hold, entailed many cares upon the educated Hindu

mother, and the only time that could be found for the

xn Introduction.

little daughter's lessons was in the morning1

twilight,

before the toilsome day had dawned. Ramabai recalls

with emotion that early instruction while held in her

dear mother's arms. The little maiden, heavy with

sleep, was tenderly lifted from her bed upon the earth,

and wakened with many endearments and sweet

mother-words;and then, while the birds about them

in the forest chirped their morning songs, the lessons

were repeated, no other book than the mother's lips

being used. It is these lessons of the early morning,statedly renewed with each recurrent day, that con-

stitute the fountain-head of the " sweet influences andable instruction" which, in the dedicatory page of this

book, the author characterizes as "the light and guideof my life."

But this was a Hindu home, not an American homewhere such kindly care and wise parental love wouldhave borne for the parents refreshing fruit in their old

age. The father, under the iron rule of custom, had>< given his elder daughter in marriage when very young,. and upon pages 62 and 63 we learn the nature of thesorrows which overtook the family ; previous to this,

however, the popularity of the Shastri as a teacher,and his sacred locality in the wilderness, had in-

volved him in debt ; for guests must be fed and duties

enjoined b^ religion performed, at whatever pecuniaryloss. The half of his landed property in his native

village, which was to be the portion of the son by thesecond wife, was, with the son's consent, sold to dis-

charge the debts, and then the family, homeless, setout upon pilgrimages, It is difficult for the "Westernreader, with whom the word home is inseparable fromfamily existence, to realize that this Hindu familywere thus employed seven years, Ramabai being nineyears of age when they set out.

But all the while as this Marathi priest and his wife

Introduction. xiii

and children wandered from one sacred locality to thenext, having no certain dwelling-place, the early morn-ing lessons were continued, and Ramabai, developingrare talent, became, under the instructions of fatherand mother,

" a prodigy of erudition. " Engrossed inher studies, she was allowed to remain single until the

age of sixteen, when, within a month and a half ofeach other, her parents died.

"From my earliest years," Ramabai states, "I al-

ways had a love of books. Though I was not formallytaught Marathi, yet hearing my father and motherspeak it and being in the habit of reading newspapersand books in that language, I acquired a correct

knowledge of it. In this manner I acquired also the

knowledge of Kanarese, Hindustani and Bengali while

traveling about. My father and mother did not dowith me as others were in the habit of doing with their

daughters, z. /?., throw me into the well of ignoranceby giving me in marriage in my infancy. In this myparents were both of one mind." When death invadedthe pilgrim household, the father, bowed with age andnow totally blind for several years, was taken first ; insix weeks the mother followed. The poverty of the

family was extreme ; consequently, Brahmans couldnot be secured to bear the remains to the burning-ghat, which was three miles distant from the scene ofthe mother's death. At length two Braimans werefound who took pity upon them, and with the assist-

ance of these men, the devoted son and daughter them-selves carried the precious burden to the distant placeof cremation, Ramabai's low stature compelling the

bearing of her share of the burden upon her head.

Why do I recount this passage of nameless woe?Why? Because we American women, in our ownhomes, have never before looked into the face of one

Upon whom a ministry of sorrow so overwhelming as

xiv Introduction.

this lias been laid, and we need, in our prosperity,

to realize that God hath made of one blood all nations

of men. The lovely woman who writes this book in

the city of Philadelphia and the beloved mother to

whom she dedicates it were in the forest of Gungamuland in the later, dusty paths of pilgrimage alike des-

titute of the true knowledge of God ; but, in their

great spiritual darkness, they ministered to and mu-

tually loved and cherished each other with that mater-

nal and filial affection which is the same the woildover

After the death of the parents and the elder sister,

Ramabai and her brother continued to travel. Theyvisited many countnes on the great continent of India,the Punjab, Rajputana, the Central Provinces, Assam,Bengal and Madras, and, as pilgrims, were often in

want and distress. They spent their time in advo-

cating female education, i. e.< that before marriagehigh-caste Hindu girls should be instructed in vSan-

sknt and in their vernacular, according to the ancientShastras,

When, in their journeying, they at length reachedCalcutta, the young Sanskrit scholar and lecturer cre-ated a sensation by her advanced views and her

scholarship. She was summoned before the assembledpundits of the capital city ; and as a result of theirexamination the distinguished title of Sarasvati wa ,

publicly confeired upon her by them. Soon after, herbrother died. "His great thought during his brief

illness/' she writes, "was for me; what would be-come of me left alone in the world? When he spokeof his anxiety, I answered: 'There is no one but Gocito care for you and me.' 'Ah/ he answered, 'thenif God cares for us, I am afraid of nothing/ And,indeed, in my loneliness, it seemed as if God was carme

j I felt His presence.""After six months I mar-

Introduction. xv

tied a Bengali gentleman, Bipin Bihari Medhavi, M.A.,B.I,., a Vakil and a graduate of the Calcutta Univer-

sity. But we neither of us believed either in Hin-duism or Christianity, and so we were married withthe civil marriage rite. . . . After nineteen monthsof happy married life, my dear husband died of cholera.This great grief drew me nearer to God. I felt that Hewas teaching me, and that if I was to come to Him,He must Himself draw me. ' ' A few months before thehusband's death a little daughter was born in the

happy home a daughter greatly desired by both fatherand mother before her birth, and hence, she found abeautiful name awaiting her, Manorama (Heart'sJoy],The widow Ramabai now returned to her former oc-

cupation as a lecturer. It became her especial missionto advocate the cause of Hindu women, according towhat she believed to be the true rendering of the an-cient Shastras, in opposition to the degraded notionsof modern times. Her earnestness and enthusiasmgained her many admirers, among whom was Dr. W.W. Hunter, prominently connected with the Britisheducational interests of India. He thought her careerand the good she was doing so well worthy of admira-tion that he made her the subject of a lecture deliveredin Edinburgh.

" When I spoke," says Dr. Hunter, "of a high-casteIndian lady being thus employed, that great Englishaudience rose as one man and applauded the efforts

which the Pundita Ramabai was making on behalf ofher countrywomen/' Henceforth her name was wellknown in England, as well as in India, to all who wereinterested in the social amelioration of the people ofHindustan.

With a view to improve the degraded condition ofher countrywomen, she formed in Poona a society of

ladies, known as the Arya Mahila Somaj, whose ob-

xvi Introduction.

ject was the promotion of education among native

women, and the discouragement of child-marriage.

She then went from city to city throughout the Bom-

bay Presidency, establishing branch societies and arous-

ing the people by her eloquent appeals. When the

English Education Commission visited Poona in Sep-

tember, 1882, for the purpose of inspecting the educa-

tional institutions of that city, the leading Brahman

ladies, members of the newly-formed society and others,

to the number of about three hundred, assembled with

their children in the Town Hall, to welcome the Com-mission and to show them that, although the munici-

pality had not encouraged girls' schools, a genuinemovement was being inaugurated by the best families

of the Marathi country. Pundita Ramabai was the

orator of the occasion. *

Dr. Hunter, as President of the Education Commis-

sion, made Ramabai the prominent figure among the

many noteworthy persons who were examined before

him during that visit. He regarded her evidence as of

so much importance that he caused it to be translated

from, the Marathi and separately printed. A copy of

this India print is before me as I write. There are

three questions, viz. :

Question r State what opportunities you have had of forming anopinion on the subject of Education in India, and in what provinceyour experience has been gained?

Here follows, in reply, a brief, but remarkably clear,

narrative of her parentage, her father's views/those of

her brother, also a statement in regard to her husband,and the vicissitudes of her life; all of which, she

stated, had afforded her many opportunities of form-

ing an opinion on the subject of Female Education in

different provinces of India. She closes thus :

"I am the child of a man who had to suffer a great deal on account

Introduction. xvii

of advocating Female Education, and who was compelled to discussthe subject, as well as to carry out his own views, amidst great oppo-sition . . I consider it my duty, to the very end of my life, tomaintain this cause, and to advocate the proper position of womenin this land "

Question 2. What is the best method of providing teachers for girls ?

Answer 2 It appears to me evident that the women who are to be-come teachers of others should have a special training for that work.Besides having a correct knowledge of their own language, they oughtto acquire English Whether those training to be iemale teachers aremarried or unmarried, or widows, they ought to be correct in theirconduct and morals, and they ought also to DC of respectable families.They ought to be provided with good scholarships Teachers of girlsalso ought to have higher salaries than those of boys, as they should beof a superior character and position. f

The students should live in thecollege compound, so as to nave their manners* and habits improved,and there ought to be a large building with every appliance for thecomfort of the teachers and students. They ought to have a native ladyof good position over them. Mere learning is not enough ; the conductand morals of the students should be attended to.

Question 3. What do you regard as the chief defects, other than any'

to which you have already referred, that experience has brought to lightin the.educational system as it has been hitherto administered? Whatsuggestions have you to make for the remedy ofsuch delects ?

Answer 3. There ought to be female inspectresses over femaleschools. These ought to, be of the age of thirty or upwards, and of a

very supenor class, and highly educated, whether Native or European.Male inspectors are unsuitable for the following reasons (i) The wo-men of this country are very timid If a male inspector goes into afemale school, all the women and girls are thrown into confusion, andare unable to speak. The inspector seeing this state of things will

write a bad report of the school and teachers, and so in all probabilityGovernment will appoint a male teacher for that school, and so theschool will not have the advantage of a female teacher. As the educa-tion of girls is different from that of boys, female schools ought to be inthe hands of female teachers. (2) The second reason is this In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the educated men of this country are op-posed to Female Education and the proper position ofwoman. If theyobserve the slightest fault, they magnify the gram of mustard-seed into

a mountain, and try to ruin the character ofa woman , often the poorwoman, not being very courageous, -and well informed, her character is

completely broken. Men being more able to reach the authorities are

believed; while women go to the wall, Both should be alike to a pa-rental Government, whose children, male and female, should be .treated

with equal justice It is evident that women, being one-half of the

people of this country, are oppressed and cruelly treated by the other

al To. put a stop to this anomaly is worthy of a good Government*Another augrcestion I wonld make> is with regard to lady-doctors.

Though in Hindustan there are numbers of gentleman-doctors, there

are no ladies of that profession. The women of this country are muchWOTS reserved than ifi other countries, and most of them would rather

die than *aeak oftheir ailments to a man. The want oflady^doctprs is,

tbw*&r7the catute of hundreds of thousands of women dying prema-tu*e deaths, fwoisld, tfcesrttfore, earnestly entreat of our Governmentto make rirovisioa for the study of medicine by women, and thus save

th* Jtafe of those maltltaide*. .Th* w*at of foo>docto** fr'one verymufcb felt and id a great defect in the Education of the women of this

'

xviii Introduction.

The answers to these questions are introduced in full,

as bearing- valuable and ample testimony to the char-

acter, and the position before the public, of Ramabai in

her own country. Upon the authority of the Time?

of India, it may be stated that her plea for women-phy-sicians before the Commission, in September, 1882, (See

Answer 3), is believed to have attracted the attention

of her gracious Majesty, the Queen-Empress, and to

have been indirectly the origin of the movement in

Hindustan which, in its latest developments, has

reached the noble proportions of The National Associa-

tion for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women

ofIndia, popularly known as the " Countess1 of Dufferin

Movement," from its distinguished president, the wife

of the Viceroy of India.

Ramabai now realized that she herself needed per-

sonal training to enable her to prosecute with success

her work among the women of India in behalf of edu-

cation. Then, too, as she had in her experience be-

come conscious of God's guidance, her spirit was pos-

sessed of that unrest which is the solemn movementof the soul Godward, seeking "the Lord if haply she

(they) might feel after Him and find Him " "I felt a

restless desire to go to England," she writes. "I could

not have done this unless I had felt that my faith in

God had become strong : it is such a great step for a

Hindu woman to cross the sea ; one cuts oneself al-

ways off from one's people. But the voice came to

me as to Abraham. ... It seems to me now very

strange how I could have started as I did with myfriend and little child throwing myself on God's pro*tection. I went forth as Abraham, not knowingwhither I went. When I reached England, the Sis-

ters in St. Mary's Home at Wantage kindly received

me. There I gradually learned to feel the truth of

Christianity, and to see that it is a philosophy, teach*

Introduction. xix

ing truths higher than I had ever known in all our sys-tems ; to see that it gives not only precepts, but a per-fect example ,

that it does not give us precepts and art

example only, but assures us of divine grace, by whichwe can follow that example.

" True to her honest na*

ture, she acted promptly upon her convictions and em'

braced Christianity, and she and her little daughterwere baptized in the Church of England, September29th, 1883. Henceforth she devoted herself to edu-

cational work. The first year was spent at Wantagein the study of the English language, which hitherto

had been unknown to her. Acquiring this, she

entered, September, 1884, the Ladies' College at Chel-

tenham, where a position was assigned her as Pro-

fessor of Sanskrit. Her unoccupied time was spent as

a student of the college, in the study of mathematics,natural science, and English literature. Her opportu-nities at Cheltenham College were of the highest order,

and the influence of the noble Christian women withwhom she was associated, both there and at Wantage,was most refined and salutary in its Character. Shemade rapid progress in her studies, and a possible Gov-ernment educational appointment in India loomed upin the near future, when an invitation reached her to

witness Mrs. Joshee's graduation in medicine in Phila-

delphia, March nth, 1886

That "holy land called America" had long held at-

tractions for her, and these were now heightened bythe presence and work of her beloved kinswoman.After some weeks of painful indecision, she decided to

accept the invitation, her sole reason for allowing her

studies to "be interrupted thus inopportunely beingher thorough conviction that it was her duty in the

interests of her countrywomen to visit America at

that time. In February, 1896, she again embarked

Upon an unknown sea, accompanied by her young

xx Introduction.

daughter, then nearly five years of age. Her residence

in America and her public service here have been

widely chronicled in the daily and weekly journals,

and are not therefore a matter of private record. In

the beginning, she expected to return to England after

a brief vacation, and there resume her studies ; but,

as the genius of American institutions was revealed

through personal inspection, her interest grew, and

she decided to prolong her stay. In midsummer she

wrote :"I am deeply impressed by and am interested

in the work of Western women, who seem to have one

common aim, namely, the good of their fellow-beings.

It is my dream some day to tell my countrywomen in

their own languages this wonderful story, in the hopethat the recital may awaken in their hearts a desire to

do likewise." As her contact with a public educational

system which included girls as well as boys was pro-

longed, her old desire to benefit her countrywomen byfounding schools which combined the training of the

hand with that of the head revived, and forsaking planswhich regarded only the higher education of the fewwomen in government high-schools or colleges in India,she concentrated her thoughts upon native schools

founded by and for native women. Early in her resi-

dence in Philadelphia she met Miss Anna Hallowell,

prominently identified with the Sub-Primary School

Society (free kindergartens) of the city. This distin-

guished lady kindly accompanied her to several of

the kindergartens, and explained methods to her with

care, and also the principles upon which the systemwas based. Ramabai's enthusiasm was aroused as

she saw in Froebel's teaching wondrous possibilitiesfor her little widows. Purchasing without delay themost approved text-books and the "

gifts," she set her-

selfto work to translate into Indian thought the gamesand tokens of the system, in order that she might

Introduction. xxi

adapt it to Hindu needs In September, 1886, she

promptly enrolled herself as a student in a kindergar-ten training-school, and, as her public duties have per-

mitted, she has faithfully pursued the course of study

throughout the scholastic year just ending". Ameri-can school-books were a revelation to her in the beautyof their illustrations and of their letter-press and the

quality of the paper upon which they are printed. In

July, 1886, she set herself to work upon a series of

Marathi school-books for girls, modeled after the Amer-ican idea, beginning with a primer and continuing

regularly up to a reader of the sixth grade. She wasenthusiastic as to results, designing to illustrate with

American wood-cuts, although the printing would ne-

cessarily be delayed until Bombay is reached, on ac-

count of the Marathi type required. The primer wassoon finished, and much of the material for the readingbooks prepared, when a prudent investigation was in-

stituted as to the cost of illustrations, and the stern

fact revealed that the charming pictures were far too

expensive to be dreamed of for her books.

Thus the case stands June ist, 1887. Pundita Rama-

bai, the high-caste Brahman woman, the courageous

daughter of the forest, educated, refined, rejoicing in

the liberty of the Gospel, and yet by preference retain-

ing a Hindu's care as regards a vegetable diet, and

the peculiarities of the dress of Hindu widowhood,

sole'mnly consecrated to the work of developing self-

help among the women of India, has her school-books

nearly ready for^the printer, her plans for the organiza-

tion of a school, such as she describes on page 1 14,

well developed, and two teachers (Amerkfah Taffies,

one a graduated kindergartner) secured. Tickets for

herself and teachers might be taken for India at once,

and as a result of the strong reaction which the un-

timely death of Dr. Joshee has set up, Ramabai, outcast

xxii Introduction.

though, she is among her own people, might inaugurate,under favorable auspices, her work among the child-

widowsBut the money is wanting. In 1793, when William

Carey, the first English missionary to Asia, was about

to set sail for India, he said to those about him,"

I will

go down into the deep mine, but remember that youmust hold the ropes

" As I close this chapter, the

longing fills my soul that among the favored womenof this Christian land there might be found a sufficient

number to hold the ropes for Ramabai, making it pos-sible for her to go out quickly to her God-inspired work

1

It must not be a fitful benefaction of a few hundred or

even of a few thousand dollars, but a steady holding on

to the ropes, for a period of not less than ten years.

They must not be let go while she in the throes of a

death-struggle with superstition and caste prejudice,and feminine unwillingness to rise, is fastened to the

India end

A decade of years ago, no sane woman would have

presumed to appeal to the women and young girls of

this land to engage in a project such as this of Ramabai,as I now do. But how rapidly we are moving on in

these last days ! We read in prophecy that "the earthshall be made to bring forth in one day," and "a na-tion shall be born at once ;" and another sure word is

written, "the people shall be willing in the day of His

power" When in that great Hindu nation about to

come to the birth, the women are moved to arise in

their degradation, and themselves uttear the feeble cry,"Help or we perish !

"it cannot be otherwise than that

a corresponding, multitude of women must be found

elsewhere, willing, in the day of God's power, to sendthe help.

There have long been in every community, womenwho are not in accord with the so-called missionary

Introduction. xxiii

societies, and who never contribute to the enlighten-ment or to the material aid of Oriental women. Rama-bai's boarding-school for child-widows, primarily aneducational scheme, may be safely taken up by such,and while they organize, and after the manner of the

women's boards of the churches, through a great net-

work of auxiliary societies, prosecute with growinginterest and zeal their child-widow school work, mis-

sionary work so-called, may be continued by the socie-

ties of every denomination, each according to its ownmethods, the treasuries of all being alike full.

The Pundita bears witness, in public and in private, to

the good accomplished in the Bast by missionary lady-

teachers, and it is her earnest desire not to affect unfa-

vorably in any manner, however remote, either the

treasury or the work of church societies. She seeks to

reach Hindu women as Hindus, to give them liberty

and latitude as regards religious convictions ; she wouldmake no condition as to reading the Bible or studying

Christianity ; but she designs to put within their reach

in reading-books and on4 the shelves of the school

library, side by side, the Bible and the Sacred books ofthe

East, and for the rest, earnestly pray that God will

guide them' to His saving truth.

It is roughly computed that Ramabai will need about

fifteen thousand dollars to fully inaugurate the workof her first school and five thousand dollars annuallyafterwards during the ten years forwhich she asks help.

So easy is it to plan, so difficult to execute ! Ram-abai herself offers a reasonable means by which the

collection of this sum may be commenced, in the pre-

sentation of this, her only American book to the public.

It has been privately printed, in order that the entire

profits may accrue to her; in the hope of a possible

large sale, the pages have been copyrighted and elec-

trotyped. If, therefore, every American woman who,

xxiv Introduction.

at any time during the last twelvemonth, has taken

Ramabai by the hand, every college student who has

heard the Pundita speak in college halls, every reader

of this book whose heart has been stirred to compas-sion by the perusal of its sorrowful pages, will at once

purchase a copy of the book and induce a fnend to do

the same, each reader being responsible for the sale of

one copy, the work is done, and the large fund needed

to prepay three passages to India, to purchase the illus-

trative material for the school-rooms, to illustrate and

print the school-books, and secure the needed school-

property in India, is at once assured.

Ramabai has come into my library to bid me fare-

well, previous to her setting out pn a journey of a

few days. I asked her as she arose to depart, if she

had a last message for the readers of her book. "Re-

mind them/' she replied, with animated counten-

ance and rapid speech, as she clasped my hand "that

it was * out of Nazareth ' that the blessed Redeemer of

mankind came ;that great reforms have again and

again been wrought by instrumentalities that the world

despised. Tell them to help me educate the high-caste

child-widows ;for I solemnly believe that this hated

and despised class of women, educated and enlight-

ened, are, by God's grace, to redeem India I"

R.

1400 NORTH aist ST , PHILADELPHIA,

June ist, 1887.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PREFATORY REMARKS,

CHAPTER IL

CHILDHOOD, ................... . 12

CHAPTER III.

MARRIED LIFE, ................... 29

CHAPTER IV.

WOMAN'S PI<ACE IN REWOION AND SOCIETY, ... 50

CHAPTER V.

WIDOWHOOD, .................... 69

CHAPTER VI.

How EBB CONDITION OF WOMEN TEI<I^ UPON SOCIETY, 94

CHAPTER VH.

THE AWPRAI* .................... 107

THE

HIGH-CASTE HINDU WOMAN.

PREFATORY REMARKS.

IN order to understand tlie life of a Hin-

du woman, it is necessary for the foreign

reader to know something of the religion and

the social customs of the Hindu nation. The

population of Hindustan numbers two hund-

red and fifty millions, and is made up of Hin-

dus, Mahometans, Eurasians, Europeans and

Jews ;more than three-fifths of this vast popu-

lation are professors of the so-called Hindu

religion in one or the other of its forms.

Among these the religious customs and orders

are essentially the same ; the social customs

differ slightly in various parts of the country,

2 The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

but they have an unmistakable similarity un-

derlying them.

The religion of the Hindus is too vast a

subject to be fully treated in a few para-

graphs ;it may be briefly stated, however, some-

what thus : All Hindus recognize the Vedas

and other apocryphal books as the canonical

scriptures. They believe in one supreme spirit,

Paramatrna, which is pure, passionless, omni-

present, holy and formless in its essence, but

when it is influenced by Maya, or illusion, it

assumes form, becomes male and female, creates

every thing in the universe out of its own

substance. A Hindu, therefore, does not think

it a sin to worship rivers, mountains, heavenly

bodies, creatures, etc., since they are all con-

substantial with God and manifestations of the

same spirit Any one of these manifestations

may be selected to be the object of devotion>

according to a man's own choice;

Iris favorite

divinity he will call the supreme ruler of tfte

universe, and the others gods, servants of tibt# ,

supreme ruler.

Prefatory Remarks. 3

Hindus believe in tlie immortality of the

soul, inasmuch as it is consubstantial with

God; man is rewarded or punished according

to his deeds. He undergoes existences of dif-

ferent descriptions in order to reap the fruit

of his deeds. When at length he is free from

the consequences of his action, which he can

be by knowing the Great Spirit as it is and

its relation to himself, he is then re-absorbed

into the spirit and ceases to be an individual;

just as a river ceases to be different from the

ocean when it flows into the sea.

According to this doctrine, a man is liable

to be born eight million four hundred thous-

and times before he can become a Brahman

(first caste), and except one be a Brahman he

is not fit to be re-absorbed into #ie spirit, even

though he obtain the true kri$^ledg;e of the

Paramatma* It is, therefore, necessary for every

person of other castes to be careful not to

, transgress the law by any imprudent act, lest

he be again subjected to be born eight million

fotit > hundred thousand times. A Brahman

4 The High-Caste Hindu Woman.

must incessantly try to attain to the perfec-

tion of the supreme knowledge, for it is his

last chance to get rid of the misery of the

long series of earthly existences;

the least

trifling transgression of social or religious rules

however renders him liable to the degradation

of perpetual births and deaths.

These, with the caste beliefs, are the chief

articles of the Hindu creed at the present

day. There are a few heterodox Hindus who

deny all this; they are pure theists in their

belief, and disregard all idolatrous customs.

These Bramos, as they are called, are doing

much good by purifying the national religion.

As regards social customs, it may be said

that the daily life and habits of the people

are immensely influenced by religion in India.

There is not an act that is not performed

religiously by them;a humorous author tag

i

1

said, with some truth, that "the Hindus eve&

sin religiously." The rising from the bed ift,

the morning, the cleaning of teeth, washing

of hands and bathing of the body,


ing of garments, lighting the fire or the lamp,

eating and drinking and every act of similar

description, is done in a prescribed manner,

and with the utterance of prayers or in pro-

found silence. Each custom, when it is old

enough to be entitled "the way of the an-*

cients," takes the form of religion and is

scrupulously observed. These customs, founded

for the most part on tradition, are altogether

independent of the canonical writings, so much

so that a person is liable to be punished, or

even excommunicated, for doing a deed for-

bidden by custom, even though it be sanc-

tioned by religion.

For example, eating the food prepared by

persons of an inferior caste is not only not

forbidden by the sacred laws, but is sanctioned

by them.*

At the present day, however, time-honored

* " Pure men of the first three castes shall prepare the

food of a householder" (Brahman or other high caste).4 * Or Shudras (servile caste) may prepare the food under

the superintendence of men of the first three castes."

Apastymbo, XL 2, 3. i. 4.


custom overrules the ancient laws, and says

that a person must not eat anything cooked

nor drink water polluted by the touch of a

person of inferior caste. Hindus transgressing

this rule instantly forfeit their caste, and must

undergo some heavy penance to regain it

Without doubt, "caste" originated in the

economical division of labor. The talented and

most intelligent portion of the Aryan Hindus

became, as was natural, the governing body

of the entire race. They, in their wisdom,

saw the necessity of dividing society, and sub-

sequently set each portion apart to undertake

certain duties which might promote the wel-

fare of the nation. The priesthood (Brahman

caste) were appointed to be the spiritual gov-

ernors over all, and were the recognized head

of society. The vigorous, warlike portion of

the people (Kshatriya, or warrior caste) was

to defend the country, and suppress crime and

injustice by means of physical strength; as-

sisted by the priesthood, they were to be the

temporal governors in the administration of


justice. Tile business-loving tradesmen and

artisans (Vaisya, or trader caste) had also an

important position assigned under the pre-

ceding classes or castes. The fourth, or servile

class (Shudra caste) was made up of all those

not included in the preceding three castes. In

ancient times persons were assigned to each

of the four castes according to their individual

capacity and merit, independent of the acci-

dent of birth.

Later on, when caste became an article of

the Hindu faith, it assumed the formidable pro-

portions ;which now prevail everywhere in In-

dia. A son of a Brahman is honored as the

head of all castes, not because of his merit,

but because he was born into a Brahman

family. Intermarriage of castes was once re-

cognized as lawful, even after caste by inheri-

tance had been acknowledged, provided that

a woman of superior caste did not marry a

man of an inferior caste ;but now law

is overruled by custom. Intermarriages can-

not take place without involving serious


consequences, and making the offenders out-

casts.

The four principal castes* are again divided

into clans;men belonging to high clans must

not give their daughters in marriage to men of

low clans. To transgress this custom is to

k

lose family honor, caste privileges, and even

intercourse with friends and relatives.

Besides the four castes and their clans there

are numerous castes called collectively, "mixed

castes" formed by the intermarriage of mem-

bers of the preceding; their number is again

increased by castes according to employment,as scribe, tanner, cobbler, shoemaker, tailor,

etc., etc. Even the outcasts, such for exam-

ple as the sweeper, have their own distinc-

tions, as powerful among themselves as are

* "There are four castes Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vais-

yas, and Shudras."

"Amongst these, each preceding caste is superior bybirth to the one following." -Apastamba I. i, i, 3, 4.

"The Brahmana, the Kshatriya and the Vaisya castes

are the twice-born ones, but the fourth, the Shudra, hasone birth only ; there is no fifth caste." rMantt X 4.

Prefatory Remarks.9'

those of the high castes. Transgressors of

caste rules are, from the highest to the low-

est, subject to excommunication and severe

punishment Offenders by intermarriage, or

change of faith, are without redemption* It

must also be bprne in mind, that if a Brah-

man condescends to marry a person of lower

caste, or eats and drinks with any of them, he

is despised and shunned as an outcast, not

only by his own caste, fcut also by the low-*

caste with whose members he has entered into

such relation. The low-caste people will look

upon this Brahnten as a lawless wretch. So

deeply rooted is this custom in the heart

of every orthodox Hindu that he is not in

any way offended by the disrespect shown

him by a high caste man, since He recognizes

in it only what is ordered by religion. For,

although"caste " is confessedly an outgrowth

of social order, it has now become the first

great article of the Hindu creed all over India*

Thoughtful men like Buddha, Nanafc, Chai-

tanya and others rebelled against this

io The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

nical custom, and proclaimed the gospel of

social equality of all men, but "caste" proved

too strong for them. Their disciples at the

present day are as much subject to caste as

are any other orthodox Hindus. Even the'

Mahomedans have not escaped this tyrant;

they, too, are divided into several castes, and

are as strict as the Hindus in their observ-

ances. Over a million Hindu converts to

Christianity, members of the Roman Catholic

Church, are more or less ruled by caste. The

Protestant missionaries, likewise, found it diffi-

cult in early days to overcome caste prejudice

among their converts, and not many years

ago, in the Madras presidency, clergymen were

compelled to use different cups for each sepa-

rate caste when they celebrated the lord's

Supper.

The Vedas are believed by the devout Hin-

du to be the eternal, self-existing Word of

God, revealed by Him to different sages. Be-

sides the Vedas there are more than twenty-

five books of sacred law, ascribed to different

Prefatory Remarks. 1 1

inspired authors who wrote or

at various times, and on which are baseoffie'

principal customs and religious institutes of

the Hindus. Among these, the code of Manu

ranks highest, and is believed by all to be

very sacred, second to none but the Vedas

themselves.

Although Manu and the other law-givers

differ greatly on many points, they all agree on

things concerning women. According to this

sacred law a woman's life is divided into three

parts, viz : ist, Childhood; 2nd, Youth or

married life; 3rd, Widowhood or old age.

The translations of the sacred texts quoted

throughout this work are those found in the well-known

Sacred Books of the East>" 'edited by Prof. Max Mutter,

Clarendon Press, Oxford.


CHAPTER II.

CHILDHOOD.

ALTHOUGH the code of Manu contains a sin-

gle passage in which it is written " A daugh-

ter is equal to a son," (See Manu ix., 130),

the context expressly declares that equality to

be founded upon the results attainable through

her son;

the passage therefore cannot be re-

garded as an exception to the statement that

the ancient code establishes the superiority of

male children, A son is the most coveted of

all blessings that a Hindu craves, for it is by

a son's birth in the family that the father is

redeemed.

"Through a son lie conquers the worlds, through a

Childhood. 1 3

son's son he obtains immortality, but through his son's

grandson he gains the world of the sun "Manx, ix., 137." There is no place for a man (in Heaven) who is desti-

tute of male offspring." Vasisktha, xvii. 2.

If a man is sonless, it is desirable that he

should have a daughter, for her son stands in

the place of a son to his grandfather, through

whom the grandfather may obtain salvation.

" Between a son's son and the son of a daughter there

exists in this world no difference;

for even the son of a

daughter saves him who has no sons, in the next world,

like the son's son.'1

Manu, ix. 139.

In Western and Southern India when a girl

or a woman salutes the elders and priests,

they bless her with these words "Mayst thou

have eight sons, and may thy husband survive

thee." In the form of a blessing the deity is

never invoked to grant daughters. Fathers

very seldom wish to have daughters, for they

are thought to be the property of somebody

else; besides, a daughter is not supposed to

be of any use to the parents in their old age.

Although it is necessary for the continuance of


the race that some girls should be born into

the world, it is desirable that their number

by no means should exceed that of the boys,

If unfortunately a wife happens to have all

daughters and no son, Manu authorizes the

husband of such a woman to supersede her

with another in the eleventh year of their

marriage.*

In no other country is the mother so laden

with care and anxiety on the approach of

childbirth as in India* In most cases her hope

of winning her husband to herself hangs solely

on her bearing sons.

Women of the poorest as well as of the

richest families, are almost invariably sub-

jected to this trial. Many are the sad and

heart-rending stories heard from the lips of

unhappy women who have lost their husband's

favor by bringing forth daughters only, or by

having no children at all. Never shall I for-

get a sorrowful scene that I witnessed in mychildhood When about thirteen years of age

*See page 61,

Childhood. 1 5

I accompanied my mother and sister to a royal

liarem where they had been invited to pay a

visit. The Prince had four wives, three of

whom were childless. The eldest having been

blessed with two sons, was of course the favor-

ite of her husband, and her face beamed with

happiness.

We were shown into the nursery and the

royal bed-chamber, where signs of peace and

contentment were conspicuous. But oh ! what

a contrast to this brightness was presented in

the apartments of the childless three. Their

faces were sad and careworn;there seemed no

hope for them iu this world, since their lord

was displeased with them, on account of their

misfortune.

A lady friend of mine in Calcutta told me

that her husband had warned her not to give

birth to a girl, the first time, ot he would never

sec her face again, but happily for this wife

and for her husband also, she had two sons

before the daughter came. In, the same family

there was another woman, the sister-in-law of

1 6 The High-Caste Hindu Woman.

my friend, whose first-born had been a daugh-

ter. She longed unceasingly to have a son,

in order to win her husband's favor, and when

I wa*it to the house, constantly besought me

to foretell whether this time she should have a

son ! Poor -woman ! she had been notified by

her husband that if she persisted in bearing

daughters she should be superseded by another

-wife, have coarse clothes to wear and scanty

food to eat, should have no ornaments, save

those which are necessary to show the exis-

tence of a husband, and she should be made

the drudge of the whole household. Not un-

frequently, it is asserted, that bad luck attends

a girl's advent, and poor superstitious mothers

in order to avert such a catastrophe, attempt

to convert the unborn child into a boy, if un-

happily it be a 'girl.

Rosaries used by mothers of sons are pro-

cured to pray with ; herbs and roots celebrated

for their virtue are eagerly and regularly sw^l*

lowed;trees and son-giving gods are devoutjj

worshipped. There is a curious ceremony,

Childhood* 1 7

ored with the name of "sacrament,

" which is

administered to the mother between the third

and the fourth month of her pregnancy for,

the purpose of converting the embryo into a

boy.

In spite of all these precautions girls will

come into Hindu households as ill-luck, or

rather nature, will have it After the birth of

one or more sons girls are not unwelcome,

and under such circumstances, mothers very

often long to have a daughter. And after

her birth both parents lavish love and ten-

derness upon her, for natural affection, though

modified and blunted by cruel custom, is still

strong in the parent's heart Especially maythis be the case with the Hindu mother. That

maternal affection, sweet and strong, before

which "there is neither male nor female,

n

asserts itself not unfrequently in Hindu homes,

and overcomes selfishness and false fear of

popular custom. A loving mother will sacri-

fice her own happiness by braving the dis-

pleasure of her lord, afcd will treat her little

1 8 The High-Caste Hindu Woman.

daughter as the best of all treasures. Such

heroism is truly praiseworthy in a woman;

tany country might be proud of her. But alas !

the dark side is too conspicuous to be passed

over in silence.

In a home.shadowed by adherence to cruel

custom and prejudice, a child is born into the

"world;

the poor mother is greatly distressed

to learn that the little stranger is a daughter,

and the neighbors turn their noses in all di-

rections to manifest their disgust and indigna-

tion at the occurrence of such a phenomenon.

The innocent babe is happily unconscious of

all that is going on around her, for a time at

least The mother, who has lost the favor of

her husband and relatives because of the girl's

birtlfcimay selfishly avenge herself by show-

ing disregard to infantile needs and slighting

babyish requests. Under such a mother the

baby soon begins to feel her misery, although

she does not understand how or why she is

caused to suffer this cruel injustice,

If a girl is born after her brother's death,

Childhood. 1 9

or if, soon after her birth, a boy in the

family dies, she is in either case regarded by

her parents and neighbors as the cause of the

boy's death. She is then constantly addressed

with some unpleasant name, slighted, beaten,

cursed, persecuted and despised by all. Strange

to say, some parents, instead, of thinking of

her as a comfort left to them, find it in their

hearts, in the constant manifestation of their

grief for the dear lost boy, to address the inno-

cent girl with words such as these:"Wretched

girl, why didst thou not die instead of our

darling boy? Why didst thou crowd him out

of the house by coming to us;or why didst

not thou thyself become a boy?" "It would

have been good for all of us if thou hadst

died and thy brother lived!" I have myself

several times heard parents say such things to

their daughters, who, in their turn, looked

sadly and wonderingly into the parents' faces,

not comprehending why such cruel speeches

should be heaped upon their heads when they

had not done any harm to their brothers.


If there is a boy remaining in the family, all

the caresses and sweet words, the comforts and

gifts, the blessings and praises are lavished

upon him by parents and neighbors, and even

by servants, who fully sympathize with the

parents in their grief. On every occasion the

poor girl is made to feel that she has no right

to share her brother's good fortune, and that

she is an unwelcome, unbidden guest in the

family.

Brothers, in most cases, are, of course, very

proud of their superior sex; they can know no

better than what they see and hear concerning

their own and their sisters' qualities. They,

too, begin by and by to despise girls and

women. It is not a rare thing to hear a mere

slip of a boy gravely lecture his elder sister as

to what she should or should not do, and

remind her that she is only a girl and that he

is a boy. Subjected to such humiliation, most

girls become sullen, morbid and dull. There

are some fiery natures, however, who burn

with indignation, %and burst out in their own

Childhood. 21

childish eloquence; they tell their brothers

and cousins that they soon are going to be

given in marriage, and that they will not

come to see them, even if they are often

entreated to do so. Children, however, soon

forget the wrong done them; they laugh, they

shout, they run about freely, and are gener-

ally merry when unpleasant speeches are not

showered upon them. Having little or no

education, except a few prayers and popular

songs to commit to memory, the little girls

are mostly left to themselves, and they, play

in whatever manner they please. When about

six or seven years of age they usually begin

to help their mothers in household work, or

in taking care of the younger children.-

I have mentioned earlier the strictness of

the modern caste system in regard to mar-

riage. Intelligent readers may, therefore, have

already guessed that this reason lies at the

bottom of the disfavor shown to girls in Hindu

homes. From the first moment of the daugh-

ter's birth, the parents are tormented inces-


santly with anxiety in regard to her future,

and the responsibilities of their position. Mar-

riage is the most expensive of all Hindu fes-

tivities and ceremonies. The* marriage of a

girl of a high caste family involves an expen-

diture of two hundred dollars at the very least.

Poverty in India is so great that not many

fathers are able to incur this expense ;if there

are more than two daughters in a family, his

ruin is inevitable. For, it should be remem-

bered, the bread-winner of the house in Hindu

society not only has to feed his own wife and

children, but also his parents, his brothers

unable to work either through ignorance or

idleness, their families and the nearest widowed

relatives, all of whom very often depend upon

one man for their support ;besides these, there

are the family priests, religious beggars d.nd

others, who expect much from him. Thus,

fettered hand and foot by barbarously cruel

customs which threaten to strip him of every-

thing he has, starvation and death staring him

in the face, the wretched father of many girls

Childhood. 23

is truly an object of pity. Religion enjoins

that every girl must be given in marriage;

the neglect of this duty means for the father

unpardonable sin, public ridicule and caste ex-

communication. But this is not all. The girl

must be married within a fixed period, the

caste of the future husband must be the same,

and the clan either equal or superior, but never

inferior, to that of her father.

The Brahmans of Eastern India have ob-

served successfully their clan prejudice for

hundreds of years despite poverty ; they have

done this in part by taking advantage of

the custom of polygamy. A Brahman of a

high clan will marry ten, eleven, twenty, or

even one hundred and fifty girls. He makes

a business of it He goes up and down the

land marrying girls, receiving presents from

their parents, and immediately thereafter bid-

ding good-bye to the brides; going home,

he never* returns to them. The illustrious

Brahtnan ^need not bother himself with the

care- of supporting so many wives, for the


parents pledge themselves to maintain the

daughter all her life, if she stays with them a

married virgin to the end. In case of such a

marriage as this, the father is not required to

spend money beyond his means, nor is it diffi-

cult for him to support the daughter, for she

is useful to the family in doing the cooking and

other household work; moreover, the father

has the satisfaction first^ of having given his

daughter in marriage, and thereby having

escaped disgrace and the ridicule of society ;

secondly^ of having obtained for himself the

bright mansions of the gods, since his daugh-

ter's husband is a Brahman of high clan.

But this form of polygamy does not exist

among the Kshatriyas, because, as a member

of the non-Brahman caste, a man is not al-

lowed by religion, to Beg or to receive gifts

from others, except from friends;he therefore

cannot support either many wives or many

daughters. Caste and clan prejudice tyran-

nized the Rajputs of North and Northwestern

and Central India, who belong to the Ksha-

Childhood. 25

triyas or warrior caste, to such an extent that

they were driven to introduce the inhuman

and irreligious custom of female infanticide

into their society. This cruel act was per-

formed by the fathers themselves, or even

by mothers, at the command of the husband

whom they are bound to obey in all things.

It is a universal custom among the Rajputs

for neighbors and friends to assemble to con-

gratulate the father upon the birth of a child.

If a boy is born, his birth is announced

with music, glad songs and by distributing

sweetmeats. If a daughter, the father coolly

announces that "nothing" has been born into

his family, by which expression it is under-

stood that the child is a girl, and that she is

very likely to be nothing in this world, and

the friends go home grave and quiet

After considering how many girls could safe-

ly be allowed to live, the father took good

care to defend himself from caste and clan

tyranny by killing 'the extra girls at birth,

which was as easily accomplished as destroying


a mosquito or other annoying insect Who

can save a babe if the parents are determined

to slay her, a&d eagerly watch for a suitable

opportunity? Opium is generally used to keep

the crying child quiet, and a small pill of this

drug is sufficient to accomplish the cruel task;

a skillful pressure upon the neck, which is

known as the"putting nail to the throat,

"

also answers the purpose. There are several

other nameless methods that may be employed

in sacrificing the innocents upon the unholy

altar of the caste and clan system. Then

there are not a few child-thieves who gene-

rally steal girls ; even the wild animals are so

intelligent and of such refined taste that they

mock at British law, and almost always steal

girls to satisfy their hunger.

Female infanticide, though not sanctioned

by religion, and never looked upon as right

by conscientious people, has, nevertheless, in

those parts of India mentioned, been silently

passed over unpunished by society in general.

As early as 1802 the British government

Childhood. 27

enacted laws for the suppression of this horrid

crime;and more than forty years ago Major

Ludlow, a kind-hearted Englishman, induced

the semi-independent States to prohibit this

custom, which the Hindu princes did, by a

mutual agreement not to allow any one to

force the father of a girl to give more dowry

than his circumstances should warrant, and to

discourage extravagance in the celebration of

marriages. But caste and clan prejudice could

not be overcome so easily.

Large expenses might be stopped by law,

but a belief, deeply rooted in the hearts and,

religiously observed by the people for centu-

ries, could not be removed by external rules.

The Census of 1870 revealed the curious fact

that three hundred children were stolen in one

year by wolves from within the city of Umrit-

zar, all the children being girls, and this un-

der the very nose of the English government.

In the year 1868 an English official, Mr. Ho-

bart, made a tour 1 of inspection through those

parts of India where female infanticide was most


practiced before the government enacted the

prohibitory law. As a result of careful observa-

tion, he came to the conclusion that this horri-

ble practice was still followed in secret, and to

an alarming extent/

The Census returns of 1880-81 show that

there are fewer women than men in India by

over five millions. Chief among the causes

which have brought about this surprising nume-

rical difference of the sexes may be named, after

female infanticide in certain parts of the coun-

try, the imperfect treatment of the diseases of

women in all parts of Hindustan, together

with lack ofproper hygienic care and medical

attendance.

Married Life. 29

CHAPTER III.

MARRIED

IT is not easy to determine when the child-

hood of a Hindu girl ends and the married life

begins. The early marriage system, although

not the oldest custom of my country, is at least

five hundred years older than the Christian era.

According to Manu, eight years is the mini-

mum, and twelve years of age the maximum

marriageable age for a high caste girl.* The

earlier the act of giving the daughter in mar-

riage, the greater is the merit, for thereby the

parents are entitled to rich rewards in heaven,

*A man aged thirty years shall marry a maiden of

tatl^e who pleases him, or a man of twenty-four a girl

of eight years of age, Manu ix<, 94*


There have always been exceptions to this rule,

however. Among the eight kinds of marriages

described in the law, there is one form that is

only an agreement between the lovers to be loyal

to each other;in this form of marriage there is

no religious ceremony, nor even a, third party

to witness and confirm the agreement and rela-

tionship, and yet by the law this is regarded

as completely lawful a marriage as any other.

It is quite plain from this fact that all girls were

not betrothed between the age of eight and

twelve years, and also that marriage was not

considered a religious institution by the Hindus

in olden times. All castes and classes could

marry in this form if they chose to do so. One

of the most noticeable facts connected with this

form is this : women as well as men were quite

free to choose their own future spouses. In

Europe and America women do choose their

husbandSj but it is considered a shame for

a woman to be the first to request marriage, and

both men and women will be shocked equally

at such an occurrence; but in India, women

Married Life. 31

had equal freedom with men, in this case at

least A woman might, without being put to

shame, and without shocking the other party,

come forward and select her own rfisband.

The Svayamvara (selecting husband) was quite

common until as late as the eleventh century,

A. D., and even now, although very rarely, this

custom is practiced by a few people.

I know of a woman in the Bombay presidency

who is married to a Brahman according to this

form. The first wife of the man is still living ;

the second wife, being of another caste, he

could not openly acknowledge as his reli-

giously wedded wife, but he could do so with-

out going through the religious ceremony had

she been of his own caste, as the act is sanc-

tioned by Hindu law. The lawless beha-

viour of the Mahomedan intruders from the

twelfth century, A. B., had much to do in uni-

versalizing infant marriage in India. A great

many girls are given in marriage at the present

day litmlly while they are still in their cradles;

from ve to eleven years is the usual period

32 The Hig&- Caste Hindu Woman.

for their marriage among the Brahmans all

over India* As it is absurd to assume that

girls should be allowed to choose their future

husbanfts in their infancy, this is done for

them by their parents*and guardians* In the

northern part of the country the family barber

is generally employed to select boys and girls

to be married, it being considered too humilia-

ting and mean an act on the part of parents

and guardians to go out to seek their future

daughters and sons-in-law.

Although Manu has distinctly said that

twenty-four years is the minimum marriage-

able age for a young man, the popular cus-

tom defies the law. Boys of ten and twelve

are now doomed to be married to girls of

seven and eight years of age. A boy of a

well-to-do family does not generally remain a

bachelor after seventeen or eighteen years of

age; the respectable but very poor families,

even if they are of high caste, cannot afford to

marry their boys so soon, but even among them

it is a shame for a man to remain unmarried

Married Life. 33

after twenty or twenty-five. Boys as well as

girls have no voice in the selection of their

spouses at the first marriage, but if a man

lose his first wife, and marries a second time, he

has a voice in the matter.

Although the ancient law-givers thought it

desirable to marry girls when quite young, and

consequently ignored their right to choose their

own husbands, yet they were not altogether

void of humane feelings. They have positively

forbidden parents and guardians to give away

girls in marriage unless good suitors were of-

fered them.

"To a distinguished, handsome suitor of equal caste

should a father give his daughter in accordance with the

prescribed rule, though she have not attained the proper

age" Manii^, 88.

"But the maiden, though marriageable, should rather

stop in the father's house until death, than that he should

ever give her to a man destitute of good qualities."

> ix. $9.

But, alas, here too the law is defied by cruel

custom. It allows some men to remain un-

married, but woe to the maiden and to her

;'.' 3


family if she is so unfortunate as to remain

single after the marriageable age. Although

no law has ever said so, the popular belief is

that a woman can have no salvation unless

she be formally married. It is not, then, a

matter of wonder that parents become ex-

tremely anxious when their daughters are over

eight or nine and are unsought in marriage.

Very few suitors offer to marry the daughters

of poor parents, though they may be of high

caste families. Wealth has its own pride and

merit in India, as everywhere else in the

world, but even this powerful wealth is as

nothing before caste rule. A high caste man

will never condescend to marry his daughter

to a low caste man though he be a millionaire.

But wealth in one's own caste surpasses the

merits of learning, beauty and honor; parents

generally seek boys of well-to-do families for

their sons-in-law. As the boys are too young

to pass as possessing "good qualities," i.<?.,

learning, common-sense, ability to support and

take care of a family, and respectable char-

Married Life. 35

acter, the parents wish, to see their daugh-

ter safe in a family where she will, at* least,

have plenty to eat and to wear; they, of

course, wish her to be happy with her hus-

band, but in their judgment that is not the

one thing needful. So long as they have ful-

filled the custom, and thereby secured a good

name in this world and heavenly reward in

the next, their minds are not much troubled

concerning the girl's fate. If the boy be of

rich or middle class people, a handsome sum

of money must be given to him and his family

in order to secure the marriage ;beside this,

the girl's family must walk very humbly with,

this little god, for he is believed to be indwelt

by the god Vishnu. Poor parents cannot have

the advantage of marrying their daughters -to

boys of prosperous families, and as they must

marry them to some one, it very frequently

happens that girls of eight or nine are given

to *nen of sixty and seventy, or to men utterly4

unworthy of the young maidens.

Paxetits wbo have the means to secure good-


looking, prosperous men for their sons-in-law,

take great care to consult the horoscopes of

both parties in order to know the future of

their daughters ;in such cases, they are anx-

ious to ascertain, over and above all things,

that the girl shall not become a widow. If

the daughter's horoscope reveals that her future

husband is to survive her, the match is con-

sidered very satisfactory ;but if it reveals the

reverse, then a boy having a horoscope equally

bad is sought for, because it is sincerely be-

lieved that in that case the guardian planets

will wrestle with each other, and, as almost

always happens, that the stronger, i. e., the

husband's planet will be victorious, or else

both parties will fall in the conflict, and the

husband and wife die together. A friend of

mine informed me that three hundred horos-

copes were rejected before one was found which

agreed satisfactorily with her sister's guardian

planet. Undoubtedly many suitors, who might

make good husbands for these little girls, are

for this reason rejected, and unworthy men fall

Married Life. 37

to their lot; thus, the horoscope becomes a

source of misery instead of blessing.

It not unfrequently happens that fathers give

away their daughters in marriage to strangers

without exercising care in making inquiry

concerning the suitor's character and social

position. It is enough to learn from the man's

own statement, his caste and clan, and the

locality of his home. I know of a most extraor-

dinary marriage that took place in the following

manner : the father was on a religious pilgrim-

age with his family, which consisted of his wife

and two daughters, one nine and the other seven

years of age, and they had stopped in a town to

take rest for a day or two. One morning the

father was bathing in the sacred river Godavari,

near the town, when he saw a fine-looking man

coming to bathe there also. After the ablution

and the morning prayers were over, the father

inquired of the stranger who he was and whence

he came;on learning his caste, and clan, and

dwelling-place, also that he was a widower, the

father offered him bis little daughter of nine, ift


marriage. All things were settled in an hour or

so;next day the marriage was concluded, and

the little girl placed in the possession of the

stranger, who took her nearly nine hundred

miles away from her home. The father left the

place the day after the marriage without the

daughter, and pursued his pilgrimage with a

light heart; fortunately the little girl had fallen

in good hands, and was well and tenderly cared

for beyond all expectation, but the conduct of

her father, who cared so little to ascertain his

daughter's fate, is none the less censurable.

When the time to conclude the marriage cere-

mony draws near, the Hindu mother's affection

for the girl frequently knows no bounds;she

indulges her in endless ways, knowing that in

a few days her darling will be torn away from

her loving embrace. When she goes to pay the

customary visit to her child's future mother-in-

law many are the tearful entreaties and soul-

stirring solicitations that she will be as kind and

forbearing toward the little stranger as though

she were her own daughter. The boy's inotltefc

Married Life. 39

is moved at this time, for she has a woman's

heart, and she promises to be a mother to the

little bride. On the day fixed for the marriage,

parents formally give their daughter away to the

boy ; afterwards the young people are united by

priests who utter the sacred texts and pronounce

them man and wife in the presence of the sacred

fire and of relatives and friends. The mar-

riage being thus concluded, it is henceforth in-

dissoluble.

"Neither by sale nor by repudiation is a wife released

from her husband ; such we know the law to be which the

I^>rd of creatures made of old.'* Manu ix., 46.

Marriage is the onlyu Sacrament" adminis-

tered to a high caste woman, accompanied with

the utterance of the Vedic texts. It is to be

presumed that the texts are introduced in honor

of the man whom she marries, for no sacrament

must be administered to him without the sa-

cred formulae. Henceforth the girl is his, not

only his property, but also that of his nearest

relatives.

40 TJte High- Caste Hindu Woman.

"For they (the ancient sages) declare tliat a bride is

given to tlie family of her husband, and not to the husband

alone." Apastamba //., 10, 27, 3.

The girl now belongs to the husband's clan;

she is known by his family name, and in some

parts of India the husband's relatives will not

allow her to be called by the first name that was

given her by her parents ;henceforth she is a

kind of impersonal being. She can have no

merit or quality of her own.

"Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom a

woman is united in lawful marriage, such qualities even she

assumes, like a river united with the ocean/' -Manu ix., 22,

Many of our girls when asked in fun whe-

ther they would like soon to be married would

innocently answer in the affirmative. They

often see their sisters, cousins or playmates mar-

ried;the occasion is one long to be remembered

with pleasure. Even the poorest families take

great pains to make it pleasant to every-

body ;children enjoy it most of all. There are

gorgeous dresses', bright colored clothes, beau*

Married Life. 41

tiful decorations, music, songs, fireworks, fun,

plenty of fruit and sweet things to eat and to

give away, lovely flowers, and the whole house

is illuminated with many lamps. What can be

more tempting to a child's mind than these?

In addition to all this the hig elephant is some-

times brought, on which the newly-married

children ride in procession amidst all sorts

of fun. Is it not grand enough for a child?

Oh, I shall ride on the back of the elephant!

thinks the girl ;and there is something more

besides;all the people in the house will wait on

me, will make much of me; everybody will

caress and try to please me. "Oh, what fun I"

"I like to have a cold, and be ill," said a

girl of four. "Why, darling?" asked her

mother, in surprise. "Oh, because," replied

the little girl, "I like to eat my breakfast

in bed, ^nd then, too, everybody waits on

me!"

Who has not heard remarks such as these,

and laughed heartily over them? Children like

even to be ill for the sake of being waited on.


What wonder, then, if Hindu girls like being

married for the sake of enjoying that much-

coveted privilege ! But little do these poor

innocents know what comes after the fun.

Little do they imagine that they must bid

farewell to home and mother, to noisy merri-

ment, and laughter, and to the free life of

pure enjoyment. Sometimes the child desires

to be married when, through superstition, she

is ill-treated at home by her nearest relatives,

otherwise there can be no reason except the

enjoyment of fun that excites the desire in

the girl's heart, for when the marriage takes

place she is just emerging from babyhood.

Childhood is, indeed, the heyday of a Hindu

woman's life. Free to go in and out where

she pleases, never bothered by caste or other

social restrictions, never worried by lesson-

learning, sewing, mending or knitting, loved,

petted and spoiled by parents, brothers and

sisters, uncles and aunts, she is little differ-

ent from a young colt whose days are spent

in complete liberty. Then lo, all at once

Married Life. 43

the ban of marriage is pronounced and the

yoke put on her neck forever !

Immediately after the marriage ceremony is

concluded the boy takes his girl-bride home

and delivers her over to his own mother, who

becomes from that time until the girl grows

old enough to be given to her husband, her sole

mistress, and who wields over the daughter-in-

law undisputed authority !

It must be borne in mind that both in

Northern and Southern India, the term u mar-

riage' '

does not mean anything more than

an irrevocable betrothal. The ceremony gone

through at that time establishes religiously the

conjugal relationship of both parties ;there is

a second ceremony that confirms the relation-

ship both religiously and socially, which does

not take place until the children attain the age

of puberty. In Bengal the rule is somewhat

different, and proves in many cases greatly in-

jurious to the human system. In some very

rare cases the girls are allowed to remain with

their own parents for a time at least. In the


North of India the little bride's lot is a hap-

pier one to begin with;she not being forced

to go to her husband's home until she is*

about thirteen or fourteen years of age.

The joint family system, which is one of the

peculiarities of Eastern countries, is very deeply

rooted in the soil of India. There may not

unfrequently be found four generations living

under one roof. The house is divided into two

distinct parts, namely, the outer and the inner

court. The houses, as a rule, have but few

windows, and they are usually dark; the

men's court is comparatively light and good.

Houses in country places are better than those

in the crowded cities. Men and women have

almost nothing in common.

The women's court is situated at the back of

the house, where darkness reigns perpetually.

There the child-bride is brought to be forever

confined. She does not enter her husband's

house to be the head of a new home, but rather

enters the house of the father-in-law to become

the lowest of its members, and to occupy the

Married Life. 45

humblest position in the family. Breaking the

young bride's spirits is an essential part of the

discipline of this new abode. She must never

talk or laugh loudly, must never speak before

or to the father and elder brother-in-law, or

any other distant male relatives of her hus-

band, unless commanded to do so. In Northern

India, where all women wear veils, the young

bride or woman covers her face with it, or

runs into another room to show respect to

them, when these persons enter an apartment

where she happens to be. In Southern India,

where women, as a rule, do not wear veils,

they need not cover their faces; they rise to

show respect to elders and to their husbands,

and remain standing as long as they are

obliged to be in their presence.

The mothers-in-law employ their daughters

in all kinds of household work, in order to

give them a thorough knowledge of domestic

duties. These children of nine or ten years

of age find it irksome to work hard all day

long without the hope of hearing a word of


praise from the mother-in-law. As a rule, the

little girl is scolded for every mistake she

commits;

if the work be well done, it is

silently accepted, words of encouragement and

praise from the elders being regarded as spoil-

ing children and demoralizing them;the faults

of the little ones are often mistaken for inten-

tional offences, and then the artillery of abu-

sive speech is opened upon them; thus, mor-

tified and distressed, they seek to console

themselves by shedding bitter tears in silence,

In such sorrowful hours they miss the dear

mother and her loving sympathy.

I must, however, do justice to the mothers-

in-law. Many of them treat the young brides

of their sons as their own children; many are

kind and affectionate, but ignorant ; they easily

lose their temper and seem to be hard when

they do not mean to be so. Others again,

having themselves been the victims of merci-

less treatment in their childhood become hard-

hearted;such an one will do all $he can to

torment the child by using abusive language,

Married Life. 47

by beating her and slandering her before the

neighbors. Often she is not satisfied by doing

this herself, but induces and encourages the

son to join her. I have several times seen

young wives shamefully beaten by beastly young

husbands who cherished no natural love for

them.

As we have seen, the marriage is con-

cluded without the consent of either party,

and after it the bride is not allowed to speak

or be acquainted with the husband until after

the second ceremony, and even then the young

couple must never betray any sign of their

mutual attachment before a third party. Un-

der such circumstances they seldom meet and

talk;

it may therefore be easily understood

that being cut off from the chief means of

forming attachment, the young couple are al-

most strangers, and in many cases do. not like

their relationship ;and if in the midst of all

this, the mother-in-law begins to encourage the^

ypuug man to torment his wife in various

ways, it is not strange that a feeling akin to


hatred takes root between them. A child of

thirteen was cruelly beaten by her husband

in my presence for telling the simple truth,

that she did not like so well to be in his

house as at her own home.

In spite, however, of all these drawbacks,

there is in India many a happy and loving

couple that would be an honor to any nation.

Where thfe conjugal relation is brightened by

mutual love, the happy wife has nothing to

complain of except the absence of freedom

of thought and action; but since wives have

never known from the beginning what freedom

is, they are generally well content to remain

in bondage ;there is, however, no such thing

as the family having pleasant times together.

Men spend their evenings and other leisure

hours with friends of their own sex, either in

the outer* court or away from home. Childrento

enjoy the company of father and mother alter-

nately, by going in and out when they choose,

but the children of young parents are never

made happy by the father's caresses or any

Married Life. 49

other demonstration of his love in the pre-

sence of the elders;

the notion of false mod-

desty prevents the young father from speaking

to his children freely. The women of the

family usually take their meals after the men

have had theirs, and the wife, as a rule, eats

what her lord may please to leave on his plate.


CHAPTER IV.

WOMAN'S PLACE IN RELIGION AND SOCIETY.

THE Hindu religion commands;

" Women must "be honored and adorned by their fathers,

brothers, husbands, and brothers-in-law, who desire their

own welfare."

" Where women are honored, there the gods' are pleased ;

but where they are not honored, no sacred rite yields

rewards,"

"Where the female relations live in grief, the family

soon wholly perishes; but that family where they are

not unhappy ever prospers."" The houses on which female relations, not being duly

honored, pronounce a curse,, perish completely, as if de-

stroyed by magic,"

"Hence men who seek their own welfare, should al-

ways honor women on holidays and festivals with (gifts

of) ornaments, clothes and dainty food,"" In that family where the husband is pleased with hi

In Religion and Society. 51

wife, and the wife with her husband, happiness will

assuredly be lasting.*'

"For if the wife is not radiant with beauty, she will

not attract her husband; but if she has no attractions

for him, no children will be born."'

" If the wife is radiant with beauty, the whole house

is bright ;but if she is destitute of beauty, all will appear

dismal.** Manu, iii., 55-62.

These commandments are very significant.

Our Aryan Hindus did, and still do honor

woman to a certain extent The honor be-

staved upon the mother is without parallel

in any other country. Although the woman

is looked upon as an inferior being, the

mother is nevertheless the chief person and

worthy to receive all honor from the son.

One of the great commandments of the Hindu

Scriptures is, "I*t thy mother be to thee\

like unto a god."*

*My readers would perhaps be interested to see these

commandments; they are as foUows :" After having

taught the Veda, the teacher instructs the pupil :

Say what is true.

Do thy duty.

Do not neglect the study of the Veda.


The mother is the queen of the son's house-

'hold. She wields great power there, and is

generally obeyed as the head of the family

by her sons and by her daughters-in-law.'

But there is a reverse side to the shield that

should not be left unobserved. This is best

studied in the laws of Manu, as all Hindus,

with a few exceptions believe implicitly what

that law-giver says about women :

After having brought to tliy teacher his proper reward,

do not cut off the line of children I (i. e. Do, not remain

unmarried).

Do not swerve from the truth.

Do not swerve from duty.

Do not neglect what is useful.

Do not neglect the learning and teaching of the Veda.

Do not neglect the sacrificial works due to the gods

and fathers.

Let thy mother be to thee like unto a god.

Let thy father be to tliee like unto a god.

Let thy teacher be to thee like unto a god.

Let thy guests be to thee like unto a godWhatever actions are blameless those should be re*

garded, not others.

Whatever good works have been performed by us

should be observed by thee, not others." Taittiriya

Upamshad, Valli, ,i. An. si, i, 2.


"It is the nature of women to seduce men in this

world ; for that reason the wise are never unguarded in

the company of females."

"For women are able to lead astray in this world not

only a fool, but even a learned man, and to make him a

slave of desire and anger." Manut ri., 213-214." Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention

fixed on age; thinking 'it is enough that he is a man,'

they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly.""Through their passion for men, through then- mutable

temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become

disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they

may be guarded in this world."

"Knowing their disposition, which the Ix>rd of crea-

tures laid in them at the creation, to be such, every man

should most strenuously exert himself to guard them."

"When creating them, Manu allotted to women a love

of their bed, of their seat and of ornament, impure de-

sires, wrath, dishonesty, malice and bad conduct"

"For women no sacramental rite is performed with

sacred texts, thus the law is settled; women who are

destitute of strength and destitute of the knowledge of

Vedic texts, are as impure as falsehood itself, that is a

fixed rule." Manu ix., 14-18.

Such is the opinion of Manu concerning all

women ;and all men with more or less faith

in the law regard women, even though they

be their own mothers, "as impure as fake-

hood itself."


"And to this effect many sacred texts are chanted also

in the Vedas, in order to make fully known the true dis-

position of women;hear now those texts which refer to

the expiation of their sins."

" '

If my mother, going astray and unfaithful, conceived

illicit desires, may my father keep that seed from me,'

that is the scriptural text"- Manu ix., 19, 20.

Such distrust and such low estimate of wo-

man's nature and character in general, is at

the root of the custom of seclusion of women

in India. 'This mischievous custom has greatly

increased and has become intensely tyrannical

since the Mahomedan invasion;

but that it

existed from about the sixth century, B,c.,

cannot be denied. All male relatives are com-

manded by the law to deprive the women of

the household of all their freedom :

"Bay and night women must be kept in dependence

by the males of their families, and if they attach them-

selves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under

one's control "

" Her father protects her in childhood, her husband pro-

tects her in youth, and her sons protect her in old age ;

a woman is never fit for independence."Maw ix., 2, 3.

"Women must particularly be guarded against evil in-


clinations, however trifling they may appear; for if they

are not guarded, they "will bnng sorrow on two families."

"Considering that the highest duty of all castes, even

weak husbands must strive to guard their wives." Manu

ix., 5, 6.

*' No man can completely guard women by force ; but

they can be guarded by the employment of the following

expedients :" *

"Let the husband employ his wife in the collection

and expenditure of his wealth, in keeping everything

clean, in the fulfilment of religious duties, in the prepara-

tion of his food, and in looking after the household uten-

sils." Manu ix., 10, n.

Those who diligently and impartially read

Sanscrit literature in the original, cannot fail

to recognize the law-giver Manu as one of

those hundreds who have done their best to

make woman a hateful being in the world's eye.

To employ her in housekeeping and kindred

occupations is thought to be the only means

of keeping her out of mischief, the blessed

enjoyment of literary culture being denied her*

She is forbidden to read the sacred scriptures,

she has no right to pronounce a single sylla-

ble out of them. To appease her uncultivated,

low kind of desire by giving her ornaments


to adorn her person, and by giving her

dainty food together with an occasional bow

which costs nothing, are the highest honors

to which a Hindu woman is entitled. She,

the loving mother of the nation, the devoted

Wife, the tender sister and affectionate daugh-

ter is never fit for independence, and is "as

impure as falsehood itself." She is never to

be trusted; matters of importance are never

to be committed to her*

I can say honestly and truthfully, that I

have never read any sacred book in Sanscrit

literature without meeting this kind of hateful

sentiment about women. True, they contain

here and there a kind word about them, but

such words seem to me a heartless mockery*

after having charged them, as a class, with

crime and evil deeds.

Profane literature is by no means less severe

or more respectful towards women. I quote

from the ethical teachings, parts of a catechism

and also a few proverbs :

In Religion and Society.

Q What is cruel?

A. The heart of a viper.

Q. What is more cruel than that?

A. The heart of a woman.

Q. What is the cruelest of all >

A. The heart of a sonless, penniless widow.

A catechism on moral subjects writt

Hindu gentleman of high literary re

says :

Q What is the chief gate to hell?

A. A woman.

Q. What bewitches like wine?

A. A woman.

Q. Who is the wisest of the wise ?

A. He who has not been deceived by womenbe compared to malignant fiends.

Q. What are fetters to men?

A. Women.

Q. What is that which cannot be trusted?

A. Women.

Q What poison is that which appears like ne

A. Women.

PROVERBS.

"Never put your trust in women."

"Women's counsel leads to destruction."

"Woman is a great whirlpool of suspicion, a

place of vices, full of deceits, a hindrance in tl

heaven, the gate of hell."


Having fairly illustrated the popular belief

about woman's nature, I now proceed to state

woman's religion. Virtues such as truthful-

ness, forbearance, fortitude, purity of heart

and uprightness, are common to men and

women, but religion, as the word is commonly

understood, has two distinct natures in the

Hindu law;

the masculine and the feminine.

The masculine religion has its own peculiar

duties, privileges and honors. The feminine

religion also has its peculiarities.

The sum and substance of the latter may be

given in a few words: To look upon her

husband as a god, to hope for salvation only

through him, to be obedient to him in all

things, never to covet independence, never to

do anything but that which is approved by

law and custom.

"Hear now the duties of women," says the

law-giver, Manu :

"By a girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged

one, nothing must be done independently, even in her

own house."


"In childhood, a female must be subject to her father,

in youth, to her husband, when her lord is dead, to her

sons;

a woman must never be independent."" She must not seek to separate herself from her father,

husband, or sons; by leaving them she would make both

her own and her husband's families contemptible."

"She must always be cheerful, clever in the manage-ment of her household affairs, careful in cleaning her

utensils, and economical in expenditure."

"Him to whom her father may give her, or her bro-

ther with the father's permission, she shall obey as longas he lives, and when he is dead, she must not insult his

memory."

"For the sake of procuring good fortune to brides, the

recitation of benedictory texts, and the sacrifice to the

Lord of creatures are used at weddings ;but the be-

trothal by the father or guardian is the cause of the hus-

band's dominion over his wife."

"The husband who wedded her with sacred texts, al-

ways gives happiness to his wife, both in season and out

of season, in this world and in the next."

"Though destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure else-

where, or devoid of good qualities, yet a husband must

be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife."" No sacrifice, no vow, no fast must be performed by

women apart from their husbands;

if a wife obeys her

husband, she will for that reason alone, be exalted in

heaven "

"A faithful wife*, who desires to dwell after death with

her husband, must never do anything that might dis*

please him who took her hand whether he be alive or

dead." Manu v,, 147-156.


"By violating her duty towards her husband, a wife is

disgraced in this world, after death she enters the wotub

of a jackal, and is tormented by diseases, the punishmentof her sin."

"She who> controlling ner thoughts, words and deeds,

never slights her lord, resides after death with her hus-

band in heaven, and is called a virtuous wife."" In reward of such conduct, a female who controls her

thoughts, speech and actions, gams in this life highest

renown, and in the next world a place near her hus-

band." Manu v., 164-166.

MARITAI, RIGHTS.

" He only is a perfect man who consists of three per-

sons united, his wife, himself and his offspring; thus

says the Veda, and learned Brahmanas propound this

maxim likewise, 'The husband is declared to be one with

the wife.' **Manu ix., 45.

The wife is declared to be the "marital

propertyn of her husband, and is classed with

"cows, mares, female camels, slave-girls, buf-

falo-cows, she-goats and ewes." (See Mamt ix.,

The wife is punishable for treating her hus-

band with aversion :

"For one year let a husband bear with a wife whohates him

,but after a lapse of a year, let him deprive

her of her property and cease to live with her,"


"She who shows disrespect to a husband who is ad-

dicted to some evil passion, is a drunkard, or diseased,

shall be deserted for three months, and be deprived of

her ornaments and furniture." Mann ix., 77, 78.

"She who drinks spirituous liquor, is of bad conduct,

rebellious, diseased, mischievous or wasteful, may at anytime be superseded by another wife."

" A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year,

she whose children all die in the tenth, she who bears

only daughters in the eleventh, but she who is quarrel-

some without delay." Manu ix,, 80, 81.

" A wife who, being superseded, in anger departs from

her husband's house, must either be instantly confined

or cast off in the presence of the family." Manu ix., 83.

"Though a man may have accepted a damsel in due

form, he may abandon her if she be blemished or diseased,

and if she have been given with fraud," Mann ix., 72.

But no such provision is made for the 'wo-

man;on the contrary, she must remain with

and revere her husband as a -god, even though

he be "destitute of virtue, and seek pleasure

elsewhere, or be devoid of good qualities,

addicted to evil passion, fond of spirituous

liquors or diseased," and what not I

How much impartial justice is shown in the

treatment of womankind by Hindu law, can be

fairly understood after reading the above quota-

62 The HigfaCaste Hindu Woman.

tions. In olden times these laws were enforced

by the community ;a husband had absolute

power over his wife;she could do nothing but

submit to his will without uttering a word of

protest Now, under the so-called Christian

British rule, the woman is in no better con-

dition than of old. True, the husband cannot

as in the golden age, take ^her whenever she

may be found, and drag her to his house, but

his absolute power over her person has not

suffered in the least He is now bound to

bring,suit against her in the courts of justice

to claim his "marital property," if she be,

unwilling to submit to him by any other

means.

A near relative of mine had been given in

her childhood * in marriage to a boy whose

parents agreed to let him stay and be educated

with her in her own home. No sooner how-

ever, had the marriage ceremony been con-

cluded than they forgot their agreement ;the

boy was taken to the home of his parents

where he remained t<* grow up to be a worth-


less dunce, while his wife through the kind-

ness and advanced views of her father, devel-

oped into a bright young woman and well

accomplished.

Thirteen years later, the young 'man came to

claim his wife, but the parents had no heart

to send their darling daughter with a beggar

who posseted neither the power nor the sense

to make an honest living, and was unable to

support and protect his wife. The wife too,

had no wish to go with him since he was a

stranger to her; under the circumstances she

could neither love nor respect him. A num-

ber of orthodox people in the community who

saw no reason why a wife should not follow

her husband even though he be a worthless

man, collected funds to enable him to sue her

and her parents in the British Court of Jus-

tice. The case was examined with due cere-

mony and the verdict was given in the man's

favor, according to Hindu law.* The wife

*In all cases except those directly conntcted with life

and death, the British Government is bottnd according to


was doomed to go with him. Fortunately

she was soon released from this sorrowful

world by cholera. Whatever may be said of

the epidemics that yearly assail our country,

they are not unwelcome among the unfortu-

nate women who are thus persecuted by so-

cial, religious and State laws. Many women

put an end to their earthly sufferings by

committing suicide. Suits at law between hus-

band and wife are remarkable for their rarity

in the British Courts in India, owing to the

ever submissive conduct of women who suffer

silently, knowing that the gods and justice

always favor the men.

The case of Rakhmabai, that has lately

profoundly agitated Hindu society, is only

one of thousands of the same class. The

remarkable thing about her is that she is

a well-educated lady, who was brought upunder the loving care of her father, and had

the treaties concluded with the inhabitants of India, not

to interfere with their social and religious customs and

laws; judicial decisions are given accordingly.


learned from him how to defend herself against

the assaults of social and religious bigotries.

But as soon as her father died the man who

claimed to be her husband, brought suit

against her in the court of Bombay. The

young woman bravely defended herself, declin-

ing to go to live with the man on the ground

that the marriage that was concluded without

her consent could not be legally considered as

such. Mr. Justice Pinhey, who tried the case

in the first instance, had a sufficient sense of

justice to refuse to force the lady to live

with her husband against her will. Upon

hearing this decision, the conservative party

all over India rose as one man and girded

their loins to denounce the helpless woman

and her handful of friends. They encouraged

the alleged husband to stand his ground firmly,

threatening the British government with pub-

lic displeasure if it failed to keep its agree-

ment to force the woman to go to live with

the husband according to Hindu law. Large

sums were collected for the benefit of this

5


man, Dadajee, to enable him to appeal against

the decision to the full bench, whereupon, to

the horror of all right-thinking people, the

chief-justice sent back the case to the lower

court for re-trial on its merits, as judged by

the Hindu laws. The painful termination of

this trial, I have in a letter written by mydear friend Rakhmabai herself, bearing date

Bombay, March i8th, 1887. I quote from her

letter :

" The learned and civilized judges of the full bench are

determined to enforce, in this enlightened age, the in-

human laws enacted in barbaric times, four thousand

years ago. They have not only commanded me to goto live with the man, but also have obliged me to paythe costs of the dispute. Just think of this extraordinary

decision I Are we not living under the impartial British

government, which boasts of giving equal justice to all,

and are we not ruled by the Queen-Empress Victoria,

herself a woman? My dear friend, I shall have been

cast into the State prison when this letter reaches you ;

this is because I do not, and cannot obey the order of

Mr. Justice Farran.

"There is no hope for women in India, whether theybe under Hindu rule or British rule

; some are of the

opinion that my case so cruelly decided, may bring about

a better condition for woman by turning public opinion in


her favor, but I fear it will be otherwise. The hard-hearted

mothers-in-law will now be greatly strengthened, and will

induce their sons, who have for some reason or other,

been slow to enforce the conjugal rights to sue their

wives in the British Courts, since they are now fully as-

sured that under no circumstances can the British gov-

ernment act adversely to the Hindu law."

*

Taught by the experience of the past, we

are not at all surprised at this decision of the

Bombay court Our only wonder is that a

defenseless woman like Rakhmabai dared to

raise her voice in the face of the powerful

Hindu law, the mighty British government,

the one hundred and twenty-nine million men

and the three hundred and thirty million gods

of the Hindus, all these having conspired to-'

gether to crush her into- nothingness. Wecannot blame the English government for,

not defending a helpless woman;

it is only

fulfilling its agreement made with the male

population of India. How very true are the

words of the Saviour, "Ye cannot serve God

and Mammon." Should England serve God

by protecting a helpless woman against the


powers and principalities of ancient institu-

tions, Mammon would surely be displeased,

and British profit and rule in India might be

endangered thereby. Let us wish it success,

no matter if that success be achieved at the

sacrifice of the rights and the comfort of over

one hundred million women.

Meanwhile, we shall patiently await the ad-

vent of the kingdom of righteousness, wherein

the weak, the lowly and the helpless shall be

made happy because the great Judge Himself

41shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Widowhood* 69

CHAPTER V.

WIDOWHOOD.

WE now come to the worst and most dreaded

period of a high-caste woman's life. Through-

out India, widowhood is regarded as the pun-

ishment for a horrible crime or crimes com-

mitted by the woman in her former existence'

upon earth. The period of punishment may

be greater or less, according to the nature of

the crime. Disobedience and disloyalty to the

husband, or murdering him in an earlier exis-

tence are the chief crimes punished in the

present birth by widowhood.

If the widow be a mother of sons, she is

not usually a pitiable object ; although she is

certainly looked upon as a sinner, yet social


abuse aad hatred are greatly dimished In vir-

tue of the fact that she is a mother of the

superior beings. Next in rank to her stands

an ancient widow, because a virtuous, aged

widow who has bravely withstood the thou-

sand temptations and persecutions of her lot

commands an involuntary respect from all

people, to which may be added the honor

given to old age quite independent of the in-

dividual. The widow-mother of girls is treated

indifferently and sometimes with genuine ha-

tred, especially so, when her daughters have

not been given in marriage in her husband's

life-time. But it is the child-widow or a

childless young widow upon whom in an espe-

cial manner falls the abuse and hatred of the

community as the greatest criminal upon whom

Heaven's judgment has been pronounced.

In ancient times when the code of Mann

was yet in the dark future and when the

priesthood had not yet mutilated the original

reading of a Vedic text concerning widows, a

custom of re-marriage was in existence.

Widowhood. 71

Its history may be briefly stated : The rite

of child-marriage left many a girl a widow

before she knew what marriage was, and her

husband having died sonless had no right to

enter into heaven and enjoy immortality, for

u the father throws his debts on the son and

obtains immortality if he sees the face of a

living son. It is declared in the Vedas,

endless are the worlds of those who have

sons;there is no place for the man who is

destitute of male offspring." The greatest

curse that could be pronounced on enemies,

was "may our enemies be destitute of off-

spring."

In order that these young husbands might

attain the abodes of the blessed, the ancient

sages invented the custom of "appointment

M

by which as among the Jews, the Hindu Ar-

yans raised up seed for the deceased husband.

The husband's brother, cousin or other kins-

man successively was "appointed

" and duly

authorized to raise up offspring to the dead.

The desired issue having been obtained any


intercourse bet-ween the appointed persons was

thenceforth considered illegal and sinful.

The woman still remained the widow of

her deceased husband, and her children by

the appointment were considered his heirs.

Later on, this custom of "appointment

" was

gradually discouraged in spite of the Vedic

text already quoted"there is no place for the

man who is destitute of male offspring."

The duties of a widow are thus described

in the code of Manu :

" At her pleasure let her emaciate her body by living

on pure flowers, roots and fruit; but she must never even

mention the name of another man after her husband has

died"

"Until death let her be patient of hardships, self-con-

trolled, and chaste, and strive to fulfil that most excellent

duty which is prescribed for wives who have one husband

only.*7 Manu v

, 157, 158."

. . . . Nor is a second husband anywhere prescribed

for virtuous women.** Manu v., 162.

"A. virtuous wife who after the death of her husband

constantly remains chaste, reaches heaven, . . ." Manu

v., 16a" In reward of such conduct, a female who controls her

thoughts, speech, and actions, gains in this life highest

Widowhood. 73

renown, and in the next world a place near her hus-

band."* Manu v., 166.

The following are the rules for a widower :

"A twice-born man, versed in the sacred law, shall

burn a wife of equal caste who conducts herself thus

and dies before him, with the sacred fires used for the

Agnihotra, and with the sacrificial implements.""Having thus at the funeral, given the sacred fires to

his wife who dies before him, he may marry again, and

again kindle the (nuptial) fires."

" .... And having taken a wife, he must dwell in

his own house dunng the second period of his life.

Manu v. t 167-169.

The self-immolation of widows on their de-

ceased husband's pyre was evidently a cus-

tom invented by the priesthood after the code

of Manu was compiled. The laws taught

in the schools of Apastamba, Asvalayana and,

others older than Manu do not mention it,

*It should be borne in mind that according to the

popular belief there is no other heaven to a woman

than the seat or mansion of her husband, where she

shares the heavenly bliss with him in the next world if

she be faithful to him in thought, word and deed. The

only place where she can be independent of him is in

hell.


neither does the code of Mantu The code of

Vishnu which is comparatively recent, says,

that a woman "after the death of her husband

should eithei; lead a virtuous life or ascend

the funeral pile of her husband." Vishnu

xxv., 2.

It is very difficult to ascertain the motives of

those who invented the terrible custom of the

so-called Suttee, which was regarded as a sub-

limely meritorious act As Manu the greatest

authority next to the Vedas did not sanction

this sacrifice, the priests saw the necessity of

producing some text which would overcome

the natural fears of the widow as well as

silence the critic who should refuse to allow

such a horrid rite without strong authority.

So the priests said there was a text in the

Rig-veda which according to their own ren-

dering reads thus :

"Om! let these women, not to be widowed, good wives,

adorned with collyrium, holding clarified butter, consign

themselves to the fire ! Immortal, not childless, not hus-

bandless, well adorned with gems, let them pass into the

fire whose original element is water.'*

Widowhood. 75

Here was an authority greater than that of

Manu or of any other law giver, which could

not be disobeyed. The priests and their allies,

pictured heaven in the most beautiful colors

and described various enjoyments so vividly

that the poor widow became madly impatient

to get to the blessed place in company with

her departed husband. Not only was the wo-

man assured of her getting into heaven by

this sublime act, but also that by this great

sacrifice she would secure salvation to herself

and husband, and to their families to the.

seventh generation. Be they ever so sinful,

they would surely attain the highest bliss in

heaven, and prosperity on earth. Who would

not sacrifice herself if she were sure of such a

result to herself and her loved ones? Besides

this, she was conscious of the miseries and

degradation to which she w6uld be subjected

now that she had survived her husband. The

momentary agony of suffocation in the flames

was nothing compared to her lot as a widow.

She gladly consented and voluntarily offered


herself to please the gods and men. The

rite of Suttee is thus described :

"The "widow bathed, put on new and bright garments,

and, holding Kusha grass in her left hand, sipped water

from her right palm, scattered some Tila grains, and then,

looking eastward, quietly said,cOm ' on this day I, such

and such a one, of such a family, die in the fire, that I

may meet Arundhati, and reside in Svarga ;that the years

of my sojourn there may be as many as the hairs upon

my husband, many scores multiplied, that I may enjoy

with "hi-m the facilities of heaven, and bless my maternal

and paternal ancestors, and those of my lord's line;that

praised by Apsarasas, I may go far through the fourteen

regions of Indra ,that pardon may be given to my lord's

sins whether he have ever killed a Brahman, broken the

laws of gratitude and truth, or slain his friend. Now I do

ascend this funeral pile of my husband, and I call upon

you, guardians of the eight regions of the world, of stm,

moon, air, of the fire, the ether, the earth and the water,

and my own soul. Yama, King of Death, and you, Day,

Night and Twilight, witness that I die for my beloved, by

his side upon his funeral pile.' Is it wonderful tbatt the

passage of the Sati to her couch of flame was Hke> a,

public festival, that the sick and sorrowful prayed her to

touch them with her little, fearless, conquering fraud,

that criminals were let loose if she looked upon tfrem,

that the horse which carried her was never used agaJfc

for earthly service?" (. Arnold.) ,'',','

The act was supposed to be altogetJw #

Widowhood. 77

voluntary one, and no doubt it was so in

many cases. Some died for the love stronger

than death which they cherished for their

husbands. Some died not because they had

been happy in this World, but because they

believed with all the heart that they should

be made happy hereafter. Some to obtain

great renown, for tombstones and monuments

were erected to those who thus died, and

afterwards the names were inscribed on the

long list of family gods ;others again, to

escape the thousand temptations, and sins and

miseries which they knew would fall to their

lot as widows. Those who from pure ambi-

tion or from momentary impulse, declared their

intentions thus to die, very often shrank from

the fearful altar;no sooner did they feel the

heat of the flames than they tried to leap

down and escape the terrible fate;

but it was

too late. They had taken the solemn oath

which must never be broken, priests and

other men were at hand to force them to re-

mount the pyre. In Bengal, where this cus-


torn was most in practice, countless, fearful

tragedies of this description occurred even after

British rule was long established there, Chris-

tian missionaries petitioned the government to

abolish this inhuman custom, but they were

told that the social and religious customs of

the people constituted no part of the business

of the government, and that their rule in In-

dia might be endangered by such interference."

The custom went on unmolested until the

first quarter of the present century, when a

man from among the Hindus, Raja RamMohun Roy, set his face against it, and de-

clared that it was not sanctioned by the Veda

as the priests claimed. He wrote many books

on this subject, showing the wickedness of the

act, and with the noble co-operation of a few

friends, he succeeded at last in getting the

government to abolish it. Lord William Ben*

thick, when Governor-general of India, had

the moral courage to enact the famous law of

1829, prohibiting the Suttee rite within British

domains, and holding as criminals, subject to

Widowhood. 79

capital punishment, those who countenanced

it. But it was not until 1844 that ^e ^aw

had any effect upon orthodox Hindu minds.

That the text quoted from the Veda was

mistranslated, and a part of it forged, could

have been easily shown had all Brahmans

known the meaning of the Veda. The Ve-

dic language is the oldest form of Sanskrit,

and greatly differs from the later form. Many

know the Vedas by heart and repeat them

without a mistake, but few indeed, are those

that know the meaning* of the texts they re-

peat "The Rig-veda," says Max Muller,

"so far from enforcing the burning of wi-

dows, shows clearly that this custom was not

sanctioned during the earliest period of Indian

r hitfto*7* According to the hymns of the Rig-

veto* md the Vedic ceremonial contained in

the Grihya-sutras, the wife accompanies the

corpse of her husband to the funeral pile, but

she is there addressed with a verse taken from

the Rig-veda, and ordered to leave her hus-

band and to return to the world of the living."

8o The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

"'Rise, woman,' it is said, 'come to the

world of life, thou sleepest nigh unto him

whose life is gone. Come to us. Thou hast

thus fulfilled the duties of a wife to the hus-

band, who once took thy hand and made thee

a mother.' "

"This verse is preceded by the very verse

which the later Brahmans have falsified and

quoted in support of their cruel tenet The

reading of the verse is beyond all doubt, for

there is no various reading, in our sense of

the word, in the whole of Rig-veda. Besides,

we have the commentaries and the ceremon-

ials, and nowhere is there any difference to%

the text or its meaning. It is addressed to

the other women who are present at the fune-

ral, and who have to pour oil and butter on

the pile .

u<May these women who are not widows,

but have good husbands, draw near with oil

and butter. These who are mothers may go

up first to the altar, without tears, wi

sorrow, but decked with fine jewels,' n

Widowhood. 8 1

It was by falsifying a single syllable that

the unscrupulous priests managed to change

entirely the meaning of the whole verse.

Those who know the Sanskrit characters can

easily understand that the falsification very

likely originated in the carelessness of the

transcriber or copyist, but for all that the

priests who permitted the error are not ex-

cusable in the least. Instead of comparing the

verse with its context, they translated it as

their fancy dictated and thus under the pre-

text of religion they have been the cause of

destroying countless lives for more than two

thousand years.

Now that the Suttee-rite, partly by the will

of the people and partly by the law of the

empire, is prohibited, many good people feel

easy i& their minds, thinking that the Hindu

widow has been delivered from the hand of

Her terrible fate; but little do they realize

itfcte iWe state of affairs !

Throughout I^dia, except in the Northwest-

era Provinces, women are put to the severest

6


trial imaginable after the husband* s death.

The manner in which they are brought up

and treated from their earliest childhood com-

pels them to be slaves to their own petty

little interests, to be passionate lovers of orna-

ments and of self-adornment, but no sooner

does the husband die than they are deprived

of every gold and silver ornament, of the

bright-colored garments, and of all the things

they love to have about or on their persons.

The cruelty of social customs does not stop

here. Among the Brahmans of Deccan the

heads of all widows must be shaved regularly

every fortnight Some of the lower castes,

too, have adopted this custom of shaving

widows' heads, and have much pride in imi-

tating their high-caste brethren.*

What woman

is there who does not love the wealth of soft

and glossy hair with which nature has so ,

generously decorated her head? A Hindu

woman thinks it worse than death to lose he^:

beautiful "hair. Girls of fourteen and fifteen/

who hardly know the reason why they are

Widowhood. 83

so cruelly deprived of everything they like,

are often seen wearing sad countenances, their

eyes swollen from shedding hitter tears. They

are glad to find a dark corner where they

may hide their faces as if they had done

something shameful and criminal, "The widow

must wear,a single coarse garment, white, red

or brown. She must eat only one meal dur-

ing the twentjfcfour hours of a day. She

must never take part in family feasts and

jubilees, with others. She must not show

herself to people on auspicious occasions. A

man or woman thinks it unlucky to behold a

widow's face before seeing any other object

in the morning, A num will postpone his

journey if his path happens to be crossed by

a widow at the time of his departure,

A widow is called an "inauspicious" thing..

The name "rand," by which she is generally

known, is the same that is borne by a Natttch

girl or a harlot. The relatives and neighbors

of the young *> widow's husband are always

ready to call her bad names, and to address


her in abusive language at every opportunity.

There is scarcely a day of her life on which*

'she is not cursed by these people as th^ cause

of their beloved friend* s death. The mother-

in-law gives vent to her grief by using such

language as, when once heard, burns into a

human heart In short, the young widow's

life is rendered intolerable in every possible

way. There may be exceptions to this rule,

but, unhappily, they are not many. In addi-

tion to all this, the young widow is always

looked upon with suspicion, and closely guarded

as if she were a prisoner, for fear she may at

any time bring disgrace upon the family by

committing some improper act. The purpose

of disfiguring her by shaving her head, by not

allowing her to put ornaments or bright, bew-

tiful garments on her person, is to render her,

less attractive to a man's eye. Not allowing

her to eat more than once a day, and compel-'

ling her to abstain from food altogether ott

sacred days, is a part of the discipline by

which to mortify her youthful nature and $

Widowhood. 85

sire. She is closely confined to the house,

forbidden even to associate with her female

friends as often as she wishes;no man except

her father, brother, uncles and her aunt-cou-

sins (who are regarded as brothers) are allowed

to see or speak with her. Her life then, desti-

tute as it is of the least literary knowledge,

void of all hope, empty of every pleasure and

social advantage, becomes intolerable, a curse

to herself and to society at large. She has

but few persons to sympathize with her. Her

own parents, with whom she lives in case her

husband has no relatives, or if his relatives

are unable to take care of her, do, of course,

sympathize with her, but custom and religious

faith have a stronger hold upon them than

parental love. They, too, regard their daugh-

ter with concern, lest she bring disgrace upon

their family.

It is not an uncommon thing for a young

widow without occupation that may satisfy

mind and heart, and unable longer to endure

the slights and suspicions to which she is per-

86 The Higfb-Caste Hindu Woman.

petually subjected, to escape from her prison-

home. But when she gets away from it,

where shall she go? No respectable family,

even of a lower caste, will have her for a

servant She is completely ignorant of any

art by which she may make an honest living.

She has nothing but the single garment

which she wears on her person. Starvation

and death stare her in the face;

no ray

of hope penetrates her densely-darkened mind.

What can she do? The only alternative be-

fore her is either to commit suicide or, worse

still, accept a life of infamy and shame. Oh,

cruel, cruel is the custom that drives thou-

sands of young widows to such a fate. Here

is a prayer by a woman doomed to life-long

misery, which will describe her own and her

sisters* feelings better than any words of

mine. It was written by a pupil of a British

Zenana missionary, one of the few Hindu wo-

men who can read and write, and one who has

tasted the bitter sorrows and degradation, $f

Hindu widowhood from her childhood,

Widowhood. 87

"Oh Lord, hear my prayer! No one has turned an eyeon the oppression that we poor women suffer, though with

weeping, and crying and desire, we have turned to all

sides, hoping that some one would save us. No one has

lifted up his eyelids to look upon us, nor inquire into

our case. We have searched above and below, but Thouart the only One who wilt hear our complaint, Thouknowest our impotence, our degradation, our dishonor.

"0 Lord, inquire into our case. For ages dark igno-

rance has brooded over our minds and spirits ;like a cloud

of dust it rises and wraps us round, and we are like pris-

oners in an old and mouldering house, choked and bur-

ied in the dust of custom, and we have no strength to

go out Bruised and beaten, we are like the dry husks

of the sugar-cane when the sweetf juice has been ex-

tracted. All-knowing God, hear our prayer ! forgive our

sins and give us power of escape, that we may see some-

thing of Thy world. O Father, when shall we be set

free from this jail ? For what sin have we been born to

live in this prison ? From Thy throne of judgment jus-

tice flows, but it does not reach us;in this, our life-long

misery, only injustice comes near us.

"Thou hearer of prayer, if we have sinned against

Thee, forgive, but we are too ignorant to know what sin

is. Must the punishment of sin fall on those who are

too ignorant to know what it is> O great Lord, our

name is written with drunkards, with lunatics, with im-

beciles, with the very animals;as they are not responsi-

ble, we are not. Criminals, confined in the jails for life,

are happier than we, for they know something of Thy

world. They were not born in prison, but we have not

88 The Hig/i- Caste Hindu Woman.

for one day, no, not even in our dreams, seen Thy world ;

to us it is nothing but a name;and not having seen the

world, we cannot know Thee, its maker. Those who have

seen Thy works may learn to understand Thee, but for

us, who are shut in, it is not possible to learn to know

Thee. We see only the four walls of the house. Shall

we call them the world, or India? We have been born

in this jail, we have died here, and are dying.

"O Father of the world, hast Thou not created us?

Or has perchance, some other god made us? Dost Thou

care only for men ? Hast Thou no thought for us wo-

men ? Why hast Thou created us male and female? O

Almighty, hast Thou not power to make us other than

we are, that we too might have some share in the com-

forts of this life ? The cry of the oppressed is heard even

in the world. Then canst Thou look upon our victim

hosts, and shut Thy doors of justice? O God Almighty

and Unapproachable, think upon Thy mercy, which is

a vast sea, and remember us. O Lord, save us, for we

cannot bear our hard lot; many of us have killed our-

selves, and we are still killing ourselves. O God of

mercy, our prayer to Thee is this, that the curse may,

be removed from the women of India. Create in the

hearts of the men some sympathy, that our lives may no

longer be passed in vain longing, that saved by Thymercy, we may taste something of the joys of life."

A Hindu gentleman contributes ,an article

entitled "The Hindu Widow," to Th& Nine-

teenth Century, I quote from this a$ te$i>'

WidowJwod. 89

mony from the other sex, of the truthfulness

of my statement, lest I should appear to ex-

aggerate the miserable condition to which mysister-widows are doomed for life :

" The widow who has no parents has to pass her whole

life under the roof of her father-in-law, and then she*

knows no comfort whatever. She has to meet from her

late husband's relations only unkind looks and unjust re-

proaches. She has to work like a slave, and for the

reward of all her drudgery she only receives hatred and

abhorrence from her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. If

there is any disorder in the domestic arrangements of the

family the widow is blamed and cursed for it. Among

Hindus, women cannot inherit any paternal property, and

if a widow is left any property by her husband she can-

not call it her own. All her wealth belongs to her son,

if she has any, and if she has nobody to inherit it she

is made to adopt an heir, and give him all her property

directly he comes of age, and herself live on a bare allow-

ance granted by him. $ven death cannot save a widow

from indignities. For when a wife dies she is burnt in

the clothes she had on, but a widow's corpse is covered

with a coarse white cloth, and there is little ceremony at

her funeral

"'The English have abolished Sati (Suttee), but alas!

neither the English nor the angels know what goes on

in our houses, and the Hindus not only do not care, but

think it good I* Such were the words of a widow;

and well m%ht she exclaim, that '

neither tiie English

go The High-Caste Hindu Woman.

nor the angels know, and that the Hindus not only don't

care, but think it good ;

' for Hindu as I am, I can vouch

for her statement that very few Hindus have a fair know-

ledge of the actual sufferings of the widows among them,

and fewer still care to know the evils and horrors of the

barbarous custom which victimizes their own sisters and

daughters in so ruthless a manner; nay, on the contrary,

the majority of the orthodox Hindus consider the practice

to be good and salutary. Only the Hindu widows knowtheir own sufferings ; it is perfectly impossible for anyother mortal, or even 'the angels,' (as the widow says),

to realize them. One can easily imagine how hard the

widow's lot must be .... when to the continuous

course of fastings, self-inflictions and humiliations is added

the galling ill-treatment which she receives from her ownrelations and friends. To a Hindu widow death is a

thousand times more welcome than her miserable exis-

tence. It is no doubt this feeling that drove in former

times many widows to immolate themselves on the funeral

pyres of their dead husbands " DEVENDIRA N, DAS, Nine-

teenth Century, September, 1886.

There is a class of reformers who think that

they will meet all the wants of widows by es*

tablishing the re-marriage system. This $ys^

tern should certainly be introduced for tfye

benefit of the infant widows who wish to

marry on coming to age ; but at the same

time it should be remembered that this alptte

Widowhood. 91

is incapable and insufficient to meet their

wants.

In the first place, widow-marriage among

the high-caste people will not for a long time

become an approved custom. The old idea

is too deeply rooted in the heart of society

to be soon removed. Secondly, there are not

many men who will boldly come forward and

marry widows, even if the widows wish it.

It is one thing to talk about doing things

contrary to the approved custom, but to prac-

tice is quite another matter. It is now about

fifty years since the movement called widow-*

marriage among the high-caste Hindus was

started, but those who have practiced it are

but few. I have known men of great learn-

ing and high reputation who took oaths to

the effect that if they were to become widow-

ers and wished to marry again they would

marry widows. But no sooner had their first

wives died than they forgot all about the

oaths and married pretty little maidens. So-

ciety threatens them with excommunication,


their friends and relatives entreat them with

tears in their eyes, others offer money and

maids if they will consent to give up the idea

of marrying a widow* Can flesh and blood

resist these temptations? If some men wish

to be true to their convictions, they must be

prepared to suffer perpetual martyrdom. After

marrying a widow they are sure to be cut

off from all connection with society and friends,

and even with their nearest relatives. In such

a case no faithful Hindu would ever give

them assistance if they were to fall in distress

or become unable to earn their daily bread;

they will be ridiculed by, and hated of all

men. How many people are there in the

world who would make this tremendous sacri-

fice on the altar of conscience? The persecu-

tion to be endured by people who transgress

established customs is so great that life be-

comes a burden. A few years ago a high-

caste man in Cutch, (Northwestern India,) ven-

tured to marry a widow, but to endure the

persecution which ensued, was beyond his

Widowhood. 93

power, and the wretched fellow was soon after

found dead, having committed suicide.

Re-marriage, therefore, is not available, nor

would it be at all times desirable, as a miti-

gation of the sufferer's lot So the poor, help-

less high-caste widow with the one chance

of ending her miseries in the Suttee rite

taken away from her, remains as in ages past

with none to help her.


CHAPTER VI.

HOW THE CONDITION OF WOMEN TEI^LS

UPON SOCIETY.

THOSE; who have done their best to keep

women in a state of complete dependence

and ignorance, vehemently deny that this has

anything to do with the present degradation of

the Hindu nation. I pass over the hundreds

of nonsenses which are brought forward as the

strongest reasons for keeping women in igno-

rance and dependence. They have already

been forced out into the broad day-light of

a generous civilization, and have been put to

the fiery proof of science and found wanting.

Above all, the noble example o/ thousands of

women in many countries have burned the

Condition of Women upon Society. 95

so-called reasons to ashes. But their ghosts

are still hovering over the land of the Hindus

and are frightening the timid and the igno-

rant to death. Let us hope that in God's

good time, all these devils shall be forever

cast out of India's body ;meanwhile it is our

duty to take the matter into serious considera-

tion, and to put forth our best endeavors to

hasten the glad day for India's daughters, aye,

and for her sons also;because in spite of the

proud assertions of our brethren that they

have not suffered from the degradation of

women, their own condition betrays but too

plainly the contrary.

Since men and women are indissolubly uni-

ted by Providence as -members of the same

body of human society, each must suffer when

their fellow-members suffer, whether they will

confess it or not. In the animal as well as in

the vegetable kingdom, nature demands that

all living beings shall freely comply with its

cppiditions of growth or they cannot become

that which they were originally designed to


be. Why should any exception to this law

be made for the purdah women? Closely

confined to the four walls of their house,

deprived throughout their lives of the op-

portunity to breathe healthy fresh air, or to

drink in the wholesome sunshine, they be-

come weaker and weaker from generation to

generation, their physical statures dwarfed,

their spirits crushed under the weight of social

prejudices and superstitions, and their ^minds

starved from absolute lack of literary food and

of opportunity to 9bserve the world. Thus

fettered, in ninety cases out of a hundred, at

the least calculation, they grow to be selfish

slaves to their petty individual interests, indif-

ferent to the welfare of their own immediate

neighbors, much more to their nation's well-

being. How could these imprisoned mothers

be expected to bring forth children better thap

themselves, for as the tree and soil are, so

shall the fruit be. Consequently we see all

around us in India a generation of men

deserving that exalted appellation.


The doctrine of "pre-natal influence' 1 can

nowhere be more satisfactorily proved than In

India. The mother's spirits being depressed,

and mind as well as body weakened by the

monotony and inactivity of her life, the un-

born child cannot escape the evil consequences.

The men of Hindustan do not when babes,

suck from the mother's breast, true patriotism,

and in their boyhood, the mother, poor woman,

is unable to develope that divine faculty in

them owing to her utter ignorance of the past

and present condition of her native land.

Fault-finding with neighbors, bitter feelings

towards tyrant relatives expressed in words

and actions, selfish interest in personal and

family affairs, these are the chief lessons that

children learn at the mother's knee, from

babyhood up to the seventh or eighth year of

age.

Again, how does it come to pass that each

succeeding generation grows weaker than the

one preceding it, if not because the progeni-

tors of each generation lack the mental and

7


physical strength which children are destined

to inherit? The father may have been free

and healthy in mind, as well as in body, bnt

the mother was not;

she undoubtedly has

bequeathed the fatal legacy of weakness and

dullness to her children. The complete sub-

mission of women under the Hindu law has

in the lapse of milleniums of years converted

them into slavery-loving creatures. They are

glad to lean upon any one and be altogether

dependent, and thus it has come to pass that

their sons as a race, desire to depend upon

some other nation, and not upon themselves.

The seclusion, complete dependence and the

absolute ignorance forced upon the mothers of

our nation have been gradually and fatally

telling upon the mental and physical health of

the men, and in these last times they have

borne the poisonous fruit that will compel the

Hindu nation to die a miserable and pro-

longed death if a timely remedy is not taken

to them.

Moreover the Hindu woman's ignorance


prevents liberal-minded and progressive men

from making necessary and important changes

in the manners and habits of the household;

bigoted women also prevent their husbands

and sons from such important enterprises as

crossing the ocean in the pursuit of useful

knowledge, or for purposes of trade.

To add to all the disabilities of the Hindu

mother in the discharge of her sacred mater-

nal duties, she is as a rule, wholly ignorant

of the commonest hygienic laws. It must be

remembered that she is herself a girl scarcely

out of her babyhood, when she becomes a

mother. At about fourteen, fifteen or sixteen

years of age she cannot bfc expected to know

all that is necessary in order to take good

care of her child. The first and second of the

children of this young mother usually die, and

if they survive, they are apt to grow up to be

weak and unhealthy adults. .Until they are

seven or eight years of age, the children of

the household are left to themselves without

any one to take care of them, and no in-

I oo The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

flueuce is exerted to mould their character at

this most interesting and important period of

life. Who but an intelligent and loving mo-

ther can do this all-important work for her

children at that age?

Having thus far endeavored to bring to the

notice of Western women the condition of a

class of their oriental sisters, I now desire to

direct their attention definitely to our chief

needs. After many years of careful observa-

tion and thought, I have come to the conclu-

sion that the chief needs of high-caste Hindu

women are : ist, Self-Reliance; 2nd, Educa-

tion; 3rd, Native Women Teachers.

71 Self-Reliance. The state of complete de-

pendence in which men are required by the

law-giver to keep women from birth to the

end of their lives makes it impossible for

them to *have self-reliance, without which

a human being becomes a pitiful parasite.

Women of the working classes are better off

than their sisters of high castes in India, for


in many cases they are obliged to depend upon

themselves, and an opportunity for cultivating

self-reliance is thus afforded them by which

they largely profit But high-caste women,

unless their families are actually destitute

of means to keep them, are shut up with-

in the four walls of their house. In after-

time, if they are left without a protector, i. e.

a male relative to support and care for them,

they literally do not know what to do with

themselves. They have been so cruelly crop-

ped in their early days that self-reliance and

energy are dead within them; helpless victims

of indolence and false timidity they are easily

frightened out of their wits and have little or

jo strength to withstand the trials and diffi-

culties which must be encountered by a person

on her way toward progress. But it is idle

to hope that the condition of my country-

women will ever improve without individual

self-reliance; therefore, is it not the duty of

our Western sisters to teach them how they*

may become self-reliant?

102 The HigJi-Caste Hindu Woman.

IL Education. The lack of education among

the women of India can be fairly realized by

scanning the report of the Educational Com-

mission for 1883, and the census returns of

1880-81. Of the ninety-nine million seven

hundred thousand women and girls directly

under British rule, ninety-nine and one-half#

millions are returned as unable to read and

write;

the remaining two hundred thousand

who are able either to read or write, cannot

all be reckoned as educated, for the school-

going period of a girl is generally between

seven and nine years of age ;within that

short time she acquires little more than ability

to read the second or the third vernacular

reading-book, and a little knowledge ofarith^

metic which usually comprehends no more

than the four simple rules. It should be re-

membered that the two hundred thousand

women able to read or write are the u#/-

nmntz" of the government schools, mission

schools, private schools conducted by the in-

habitants of India independently, private socie-


ties and Zenana mission agencies all reckoned

together. It is surprising how even this small

number of women can have acquired the lim-

ited knowledge indicated, when we consider the

powers and principalities that are incessantly

fighting against female education in India.

Girls of nine and ten when recently out of

school and given in marriage are wholly cut

off from reading or writing, because it is a

shame for a young woman or girl to hold a

paper or book in her hand, or to read in the

presence of others in her husband's house. It

is a popular belief among high-caste women

that their husbands will die if they should'

read or should hold a pen in their fingers.

The fear of becoming a widow overcomes their^

hunger and thirst for knowledge. Moreover

the little wives can get but scanty time to

devote to self-culture ; any one fortunate

'

enough to possess the desire and able to com-

,;marid the time is in constant fear of being

'

$eea by her husband's relatives. Her employ-

canno long be kept secret where every

IO4 The High-Caste Hindu Woman.

one is on the lookout, and when discovered

she is ridiculed, laughed at and even com-

manded by the elders to leave off this non-

sense. Her literary pursuits are now at an

end unless the proceedings of the elders be

interfered with by her progressive husban^;

but alas, such husbands are extremely rare.

Our schools, too, are not very attractive to

children;

the teachers of primary schools,

(and it is to these schools that girls are usually

sent), are but nominally educated, and do not

know how to make the lessons interesting for

children, Consequently a great many of the

girls who have been educated up to the second

or third standard (grade) in these primary

schools make it their business quickly to for-

get their lessons as soon as they find an

opportunity. Shut in from the world and

destitute of the ability to engage in newspaper

and useful book-reading, they have little or

no knowledge of common things around them,

and of the most important events that are

daily occurring in their own or foreign lands.


Ignorant, unpatriotic, selfish and uncultivated,

they drag the men down with them into the

dark abyss where they dwell together without

hope, without ambition to be something or to

do something in the world.

///. Native Women Teachers. American and

English women as Zenana missionaries are

doing all they can to elevate and enlighten

India's daughters. These good people deserve

respect1and praise from all, and the heart-felt

thanks of those for whose elevation they toil,

but the disabilities of an unfriendly climate,

and of an unknown tongue make it exceed-

ingly difficult for them to enter upon their

work for some time after reaching India;and

then, "what are these among so many?"

They are literally lost among the nearly

one hundred millions of women under British

rule to whom must be added several millions

more under Hindu and Mahommedan rule.

In America and in England we hear encour-

aging reports from mission fields, which state

that a few thousand Hindu and Mahommedan

io6 The High-Caste Hindu Woman,

women and girls are being instructed in

schools or in their own homes, but these seem

as nothing, compared to the vast multitude

of the female population of Hindustan. In

a country where castes and the seclusion of

women are regarded as essential tenets of the

national creed, we can scarcely hope for a

general spread of useful knowledge among

women, through either men of their own race

or through foreign women. All experience in

the past history of mankind has shown that

efforts for the elevation of a nation must come

from within and work outward to be effectual.

The one thing needful, therefore, for the

general diffusion of education among women

in India is a body of persons from amongthemselves who shall make it their life-work

to teach by precept and example their fellow-

countrywomen*

The Appeal. 107

CHAPTER VII.

THE APPEAR.

IN the preceding chapters I have tried to

tell my readers briefly the sad story of my coun-

trywomen, and also to bring to their notice

what are our chief needs. We, the women of

India, are hungering and thirsting for know-

ledge ; only education under God's grace, can

give us the needful strength to rise up from

our degraded condition.

Our most pressing want and one which must

immediately be met is women-teachers of our

own nationality. How can these women-teach*-

ers be supplied? I have long been thinking

over this matter and now I am prepared to

give answer.

io8 The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

Among the inhabitants of India, the high-

caste people rank as the most intelligent ;

they have been a refined and cultivated race

for more than two thousand years. The

women of these castes have been and still are

kept in ignorance, yet they have inherited

from their fathers to a certain degree, quick-

ness of perception and intelligence* . A little

care and judicious education bestowed upon

them will make many of them competent

teachers and able workers. That this state-

ment is not altogether visionary on my part,

has been proven by the gratifying results of

careful training in the person of Chandramukhi

Bose, M. A., now lady principal of Bethune

School, Calcutta, Kadambini B. Ganguli, B, A.,

M. B., and also others who have successfully

passed their examinations in the Calcutta Uni-

versity, The professors of the Woman's Medi-

cal College of Pennsylvania will bear testimony

to the ability of the late Dr. Anandibai Joshee*

Had her life been spared a little longer she

would have shown to the world that the Hin~

The Appeal. 109

du woman, in spite of all drawbacks equals

any woman of civilized countries.

Again, according to the census of 1881

there were in India twenty million nine hun-

dred and thirty thousand six hundred and

twenty-six widows, of all ages and castes.

Among these were six hundred and sixty-nine

thousand one hundred widows under nine-

teen years of age, viz. :

Under nine years of age 78,97$

From 10 to 14 years of age. . . . 207,388

From 15 to 19 years of age. . . . 382,736

669,100

Girls of nine and ten, or thirteen years of

age, whose betrothed husbands are dead, are

virgin widows, and these, if of high-caste

families, must remain single throughout life.

Now if there were suitable educational institu-

tions where young widows who might wish to

be independent of their relatives and make an

honest living for themselves, might go to be

instructed in useful handiwork, and educated

for teachers, many horrid occurrences might

1 10 Tfie High-Caste Hindu Woman.

be prevented, and at the same time these wi-

dows would prove a welcome blessing to their

countrywomen. But alas ! institutions have

not been founded anywhere in India where

high-caste widows can receive shelter and edu-

cation.

In the year 1866, an eminent English lady,

Miss Mary Carpenter, made a short tour iu

India, with a view to find some way by which

women's condition in that country might be

improved. She at once discovered that the

chief means by which the desired end might

be accomplished was by furnishing women-

teachers for the Hindu zenanas. She sug-

gested that the British government should

establish normal schools for training women-

teachers and that scholarships should be awarded

to girls in order to prolong their school-going

period, and to assist indigent women, who

would otherwise be unable to pursue their stu-

dies. In response to Miss Carpenter's appeal

upon her return to England, the British gov-

ernment founded several schools for women in

The Appeal. in

India, and in honor of this good lady a few"Mary Carpenter scholarships

" were endowed

by benevolent persons. These schools which

I have personally inspected, were opened to

women of every caste, and while they have

undoubtedly been of use, they have not real-*

ized the hopes of their founder, partly because

of the impossibility of keeping caste-rules in

them, and partly on account of the inadequacy

of the arrangements for attendance. When a

high-caste widow takes it upon herself to go

to school, she cannot hope, except in cases

which are extremely rare, to receive any kind

of help from her own relatives;

so she is

thrown out a penniless, helpless, forlorn crea-

ture to face the world alone. If then she is

so fortunate as to tfe sheltered in a normal

school and is awarded a studentship she finds

this scarcely enough to keep her from star-

vation, its money value being from twelve

to twenty or twenty-five dollars per year ;but

she cannot get even this scanty support from

the educational department, unless she pass

1 1 2 The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

a certain examination. How can an illiterate

widow hope to pass that examination ?

Besides these government normal schools for

women, of which at the present time, there

are probably $ix throughout all India, there

"are a few foreign* mission schools where a

woman may find shelter and instruction,

but if she be an orthodox Hindu by faith,

and of a respectable family, she will on no

account take refuge with people of a strange

religion and country. There are exceptions of

course to this statement, but as a rule, a high-

caste Hindu woman prefers death to this .alter-

native. She knows that if she goes to live

with missionaries she must lose caste, and that

she must study their Bible, and perhaps in the

end be induced to forsake her ancestral faith

and embrace a strange one. No woman of

any religion in which she firmly believes whe-

ther it appear to others to be true or false,

would violate her conscience simply for food

and shelter. That the fear of being temptedto abjure one's religion for the sake of worldly

The AppeaC. 113

gain should prevent many an excellent Hindu

widow from going to foreign missionary schools

is undoubted. She honestly believes that if her

life is rendered intolerable by domestic misery

she can drown herself in some sacred river by

which deed she will not only escape the

wretchedness of this life, but her past sins

will be forgiven, and a place in heaven se-

cured, but to forsake her ancestral religion

under any circumstances would doom her to

eternal perdition in the world to come.

Is there then no way of helping and educat-

ing these high-caste widows? Can none of

these obstacles be removed from her path?

Yes ! they can be removed, and the course

which in my judgment can most advantageous-

ly be taken in order to succor the widows and

the women of India in general, may be stated

as follows :

I. Houses should be opened for the young

and high-caste child-widows where they can>

take shelter without the fear of losing their

caste, or of being disturbed in their religious8

1 14 The High- Caste Hindu Woman.

belief and where they may have entire free-

dom of action as relates to caste-rules, such as

cooking of food, etc,, provided they do not

violate the rules or disturb the peace of the

house wherein they have taken up their abode.

II. In order to help them make an honor-

able and independent living, they should be

taught in these houses to be teachers, govern-

esses, nurses and housekeepers, and should be-

come skilled in other forms of hand-work, ac-

cording to their taste and capacity.

III. These houses should be under the

superintendence and management of influential

Hindu ladies and gentlemen, who should be

pledged to make each house a happy home

and an instructive institution for those who

seek its opportunities.

IV. The services of well-qualified American

ladies as assistants and teachers should be se-

cured in order to afford the occupants of the

houses the combined advantage of Eastern and

Western civilization and education.

V. Libraries containing the best books on

The Appeal* 115

history, science, art, religions and other de-

partments of literature should be established

in these houses for the benefit of their inmates

and of other women in their vicinity who maywish to read. Lectureships should also be

established in the libraries, and the lecturers

should be engaged with the distinct under-

standing that they do not speak irreverently of

any religion or sacred custom while lecturing

in that house or library ;the lecturers should

embrace in their topics, hygiene, geography,

elementary science, foreign travel, etc., and

the lectures should be designed primarily to

open the eyes and ears of those who long have

dwelt in the prison-house of ignorance, know-

ing literally nothing of God's beautiful world.

It is my intention after my return home

(which I trust may be within a year from

this time) to establish at least one such insti-

tution. I am fully aware of the great respon-

sibility the trial and it may be the failure

will involve; but as some one must make a


beginning, I am resolved to try, trusting that

God, who knows the need of my country-

women, will raise up able workers to forward

this cause, whether I succeed in it or not

The great "majority of my country-people be-

ing most bitterly opposed to the education of

women, there is little hope of my getting from

them either good words or pecuniary aid.

For the present it is useless to reason with

high-caste Hindu gentlemen concerning this

matter; they only ridicule the proposal or

silently ignore it. There are some among

them who would certainly approve and would

help to carry the idea into effect, but they

must first realize its advantages and see its

good results. One must have the power of

performing miracles to induce this class of%

men to receive the gospel of society's well-

being through the elevation of woman. Such*

a miracle I have faith to believe will be per-

formed in India before the end of the next

ten years, and if this be true, the enterprise

will prove self-supporting after that period

The Appeal. 117

with only native aid. There is even now a

handful of Hindus entertaining progressive

ideas who are doing all they can to reform the

religious and social customs of Hindustan, and

who will, without doubt, support my work

from the beginning ;but they have little with

which to forward the cause except their per-

sonal services.

An institution of the kind indicated, where

the pupils must be supported and the foreign

teachers liberally paid for their services, cannot

be founded and afterwards kept in a flourishing

condition without money. Therefore I invite

all good women and men of the United States

to give me their help liberally in whatever way

they may be able for a period of about ten

years; it is my solemn belief that it is the

most sacred duty of those who dwell in this

highly-favored land to bestow freely talents of

whatever kind they may possess* to help for-

ward this educational movement I venture

to make this appeal because I believe that

those who regard the preaching of the gospel


of our Lord Jesus Christ to the heathen so

important as to spend in its accomplishment

millions of money and hundreds of valuable

lives will deem it of the first importance to

prepare the way for the spread of the gospel

by throwing open the locked doors of the In-

dian zenanas, which cannot be done safely

without giving suitable education to the wo-

men, whereby they will be able to bear the

dazzling light of the outer world and the

perilous blasts of social persecution.

Mothers and fathers, compare the condition

of your own sweet darlings at your happy fire-

sides with that of millions of little girls of a

corresponding age in India, who have already

'been sacrificed on the unholy altar of an in-

human social custom, and then ask yourselves

whether you can stop short of doing somethingto rescue the little widows from the hands of

their tormentors. Millions ofheart-rending

cries are daily rising from within the stonywalls of Indian zenanas; thousands of child-

widows are annually dying without a ray of

The Appeal. 1 1 9

hope to cheer their hearts, and other thou-

sands are daily being crushed under a fearful

weight of sin and shame, with no one to pre-

vent their ruin by providing for them a better

way.

Will you not, all of you who read this book/

think of these, my countrywomen, and rise,

moved by a common impulse, to free them

from life-long slavery and infernal misery? I

beg you, friends and benefactors, educators and

philanthropists, all who have any interest in

or compassion for your fellow-creatures, let the

cry of India's daughters, feeble though it be,

reach your ears and stir your hearts. In the

name of humanity, in the name of your sacred

responsibilities as workers in the cause of hu-'

manity, and, above all, in the most holy name

of God, I summon you, true women and men

of America, to borEoj^^mr help quickly, re-

gardless of natiggft caste

high -caste hindu woman

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